When Hearts Collide
by buckice
Summary: When Sherry didn't get pregnant, Chris and Lorelai got engaged but deep down she wanted to be with Luke. Will she and Luke get it together this time? LL.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Set after "Help Wanted" from S2. Lorelai goes see Luke to fix things after their fight in "Teach Me Tonight".

**Disclaimer:** I'm a poor person who owns nothing. So sad.

**Note: **So this idea came to me when I went back to watch old DVDs while writing Loved and Lost (which if you haven't read, please do!). This is for all who wanted a happy, or at least happier, story for Luke and Lorelai. I think I'm going to make this into a much longer story. All reviews are welcome!

**When Hearts Collide**

After finally getting all his fishing gear back in the apartment, Luke goes back downstairs to finish setting up the diner for tomorrow. He grabs a wet sponge and heads over to the tables to wipe up. As he looks up and out the window, he sees her. She's just sitting there on the stoop, wrapped in her coat, drinking coffee. Sighing, Luke turns on the light, startling to her to turn around and stand up. Luke opens the door.

"I'm not opening again until tomorrow," he says coldly.

"You just gave my kid coffee and a donut a few hours ago." Luke stares at her, not stepping aside to let her in. "I'm not here for coffee. I already have some," Lorelai says, waving the mug cutely. Lorelai sighs. "Look, Luke. I know you're mad. I know we're not on the best of terms right now, but I – I just wanted to talk."

"Can this wait until tomorrow?"

"No," Lorelai responds, looking at him sadly, knowing full well he's unable to remain angry when she makes that face. Luke watches her for a moment, like he's thinking. "Luke, I…"

"Come on in," he says, stepping aside. Lorelai nods to him and walks in. Luke closes the door behind her. "I've got an early shipment in the morning so make it fast." Lorelai nods.

"Luke, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. This isn't how I meant it to turn out. I mean I was frantic. Frantic. You don't know what comes over me when something happens to Rory. She's my kid, she's part of me. And she was in the hospital."

"Yes, I know," Luke says. He's wiping off tables, not really looking at her.

"I shouldn't have taken it out on you. No matter what, you didn't deserve that. I know how much Rory means to you. I just, freaked or something." Luke glances at her, but says nothing. "Luke, I apologize. Really." Luke nods. "Say something."

"I don't know what you want me to say. You came, you spoke your piece, I listened. I thought you put a lot of thought into it."

"I did, Luke. I did." Her eyes are misty. She presses her lips together, trying to think of the right thing to say. Luke sighs, pausing his work.

"So, Rory said you were at some thing for your parents tonight," Luke comments, breaking the ice just a bit. Lorelai smiles softly, a little relieved.

"Yeah," she breathes. "Yeah, my dad's starting a new company and my mother was throwing some shindig with really crappy food, so Rory and I were forced to attend."

"But Rory came back without you." Lorelai rubs her forehead, trying to think of how to respond.

"Yeah, she's not that happy with me right now. Everything's so messed up. Rory's mad at me and almost everyone. She won't accept that I just need to deal with this my own way. And you can't either, I guess." Lorelai walks over to a stool at the counter, sits and turns around to face him. "You both want me to stop blaming Jess and I can't. It just scares me, her being with him. He's really messed up emotionally and I don't want her to ruin what a great thing she's got going with school and Dean." Luke walks over to stand in front of her.

"Lorelai, it wasn't Jess's fault." Lorelai stares at him for a moment, considering his words.

"Then why did you send him away? If you think he's doing so great in Stars Hallow, then why would you send him away?"

"I don't – I don't know." Lorelai watches Luke walk behind the counter and throw the sponge in the sink in front of her, turning her stool as she follows him with her eyes.

"You're lying." Luke gives her a one-eyed stare. "Did you do it for me?"

"Lorelai." Luke walks to the other end of the counter and begins going through the cash register.

"Did you do it because we fought? Because I got mad? Because I told you – what I said?"

"The world…"

"Doesn't revolve around me," Lorelai finishes. "Yeah, heard it before. Thanks." Luke nods, and goes back to his work. "Luke." She gets up and walks around the counter to stand by him. After a moment, he pauses and looks at her. He nods his confirmation. Lorelai smiles softly and nods. "Thank you." Luke nods again.

Lorelai turns and walks towards the door. She pauses and looks back at him. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asks, almost hesitantly.

"I'll be the one with the coffee." She smiles and he visibly relaxes as well. "We're okay." Lorelai leaves. Luke watches her go for a moment and then sighs. He walks over and turns out the lights, watching her fading figure through the window in the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: What if Sherry never got pregnant? Would Luke and Lorelai still find their way to each other? Obvious answer. LL, but will contain some LC only for story reasons. Rory's storyline will pretty much follow actual season 3.

Please keep reviewing, I love your comments!

----------------

A few days later.

Chris, Lorelai and Rory walk into Luke's Diner and find a table for three and sit down. "So the arm feel light now? No cast holding it down," Chris asks. Rory nods smiles.

"Aw, poor Casty, I miss him already," Lorelai muses. Rory shakes her head smiling. Luke walks over with two coffee cups and the coffee.

"Here, more to rot your organs," he mutters, setting the cups down and pouring the coffee.

"Actually, Luke we're going to need three of those," Lorelai says, motioning over at Chris. "You remember Chris right?" Luke glances over at Chris.

"Yeah, uh, hey."

"Hey," Chris responds. He moves his hand to shake Luke's hand and after a moment, Luke responds shaking it quickly.

"Well, I, oughta, go get you a cup," Luke stammers. He sets down the coffee pot and walks over to the counter. Lorelai smiles, nervously.

"I'm going to go make sure the coffee's strong enough. Be right back," she lies, watching Luke. Lorelai walks over to the counter. Rory and Chris begin talking animatedly back at the table. "Hey, Luke." She smiles, trying to lighten the mood. Luke looks up at her and nods. "So…you going to Sookie's wedding tomorrow?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. Things might get really busy here," Luke says. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"With your main customers at the wedding? I doubt that." Luke looks at her for a moment. He grabs a coffee cup and hands it to her. "Thanks." She smiles, but doesn't move. "Come to the wedding, it'll be fun. Bring a date. Party down."

"A date?"

"Sure, even woodsmen have dates sometimes." Luke glares at her. "Kidding."

"You're bringing a date?" Lorelai nods. Luke looks at her curiously. Lorelai points back at Christopher. "Oh, yeah, right. Of course." Luke looks down, embarrassed.

"Yeah, he and Sherry are kinda on the outs so I thought it would be fun, kinda cheer him up or something," Lorelai explains. Luke nods.

"I'm sure it will." Lorelai nods. They stand there awkwardly for a moment. "Rory seems happy have him here." Lorelai looks back at Chris and Rory and smiles, just watching him.

"Yeah… yeah she does," Lorelai responds, not looking back at Luke. Luke sighs. "Thanks for the coffee." Lorelai turns around. "I'll see you at the wedding." She winks and walks back to sit with Chris and Rory. Luke watches her, almost sadly, realizing he lost again.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Sorry about the last chapter being so short, I was just seeing how much you like this story idea. I'm glad you're liking it! But a continuing warning for all who don't like Chris, he's going to be around for a little while.

Anyways, keep reviewing and I'll keep updating!

** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Early morning, the day after Sookie's wedding**

Luke watches Lorelai walk into the diner. He glances at his watch and then looks at her strangely. "What!" Lorelai exclaims.

"It's seven in the morning."

"So?"

"Lorelai, in the seven years I've known you, you've never once been here this early in the morning."

"Not true, the morning after Rory and Dean broke up we were here at 6:00. I should know, I almost joined the ranks of Andrea Yates that morning." Luke shakes his head.

"Coffee?" Luke asks.

"Yeah, two, to go," Lorelai says nonchalantly. Luke looks at her like she's crazy. "Please?"

"To go? Where's Rory?" Lorelai smiles nervously.

"She's – she left for school early. Something with student council elections or something," Lorelai stammers.

"But two coffees."

"Yes, I am extremely thirsty and tired this morning," Lorelai says, hoping he'll go along with it. Luke knows Lorelai can't lie.

"Because you're up so early?" Luke replies sarcastically.

"Exactly," Lorelai says, hoping he's not joking. Luke nods. They stare at each other for a moment before Lorelai realizes the jig's up. She sighs. "One's for Christopher."

"Christopher?"

"Yeah, the one who impregnated me?" She winks.

"He's still here?" Lorelai grimaces. She nods slowly. "Ah." Luke turns around and grabs two to-go cups. Lorelai watches him as he pours the coffee and then hands them to her. She stands there for a moment.

"So, did you have a good time at the wedding?" she asks, sitting down on the stool in front of him.

"Lorelai, do we have to do this?"

"What?"

"You're feeling bad because you had to admit that your ex-whatever-he-is is still at your house. You think I care so you want to make small talk and get me to say I'm glad about your situation." Lorelai's mouth drops open. "It's okay. I'm glad for you," Luke manages. Lorelai nods. Jess walks into the diner from upstairs. Lorelai's mouth drops open again. Luke looks down, pretending to be busy.

"You sure needed me up at 7 this morning, this place is like a regular Studio 54," Jess comments, sarcastically as usual. There's no one else in the diner. Lorelai looks at Luke, but can't seem to think of something to say. Jess shakes his head and walks back up the stairs. Lorelai stares Luke down until he finally gives in and looks at her.

"What?" he asks. Lorelai flings her hand in the direction of where Jess just stood.

"Uh, jail bait just walked in. Or was that a figment of my imagination?" Luke doesn't know exactly how to respond. "Luke!" He shrugs. Lorelai narrows her eyes. "I thought you sent him back to New York."

"He showed up again," Luke replies. "He wanted to stay. We made a deal, he has to do what I say, work here, go to school, graduate, that kind of thing. He agreed. I wouldn't have taken him back otherwise." Lorelai looks shocked.

"I can't – I can't believe this," she says, getting up from her stool.

"Lorelai, he really wanted to stay here. How could I say no?"

"Exactly like that!" Lorelai exclaims, exasperated. Luke grimaces. She shakes her head, mulling this over. "You know why he wanted to come back." Luke looks at her for a moment before nodding. "I can't believe this." Lorelai's still shaking her head. She stops and looks up at him.

"Staying here is the best thing I could do for him."

"Yeah, forget how this affects me, or more so, Rory," Lorelai snaps back. Luke sighs.

"Lorelai, I don't want to get into this again." Lorelai opens her mouth to retort but closes it, eyes narrowing.

"Fine, I'll make sure he leaves Rory alone on my own. See you later," Lorelai responds coldly. With that she walks out. Luke sighs, shaking his head, knowing he's doing all he can. And hating that putting up with Jess means weakening his relationship with Lorelai.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Back at Lorelai's House  
**

Lorelai walks into the house to find Chris walking down the stairs with a suitcase. "I thought you went to work," Chris says. Lorelai looks at him like he's crazy.

"First of all, it's 7 in the morning, don't you know me at all?" Lorelai jokes. Chris chuckles. "And were you planning on leaving without telling me?" She asks. He puts down the suitcase and takes the coffee from her.

"No, I was going to stop by the inn on the way out of town." Lorelai nods, not quite sure that she believes him. "I got confused when you weren't here this morning."

"I went to get coffee."

"We could have made coffee here." Lorelai makes her 'I'm about to think up a really bad lie' face.

"Luke's is better," Lorelai says, actually telling the truth.

"So you've said. I could have gone with you," Chris comments. Lorelai scoffs, trying to come up with a good reason for this one. "Unless there's a reason you didn't want me to go to Luke's."

"I want to keep you all to myself," Lorelai flirts, suggestively arching an eyebrow. Chris smiles.

"Ah, well then." He holds out his hand to her and pulls her to him. "I'm all yours," he says as he kisses her.

"Perfect," she whispers, leaning in to kiss him again. They kiss deeply this time.

"Lor," Chris says, breaking them off before they get carried away. "I have to go." Lorelai looks a little disconcerted.

"I thought we were going to try to make this work."

"Yeah, we are, but I have to work too. And I have to find a new apartment in Boston."

"In Boston?"

"Yeah, I can't just quit my job." Lorelai seems defeated and walks away, although Chris tries to grab her hand. "Lor, I'm not getting back together with Sherry." She shakes her head, not looking at him. "Lorelai." He grabs her hand.

"Chris, just go."

"Lor, I have to go to work. You have to go to work. Remember the inn?" He leans down and looks up into her face until she looks up at him.

"Yeah, I know. I just hate that you have to go back to Boston," Lorelai tells him, making a pouty face.

"Yeah, me too. I mean I like my work, but I hate that it's so far away from you."

"Do you?" Lorelai grabs him by the collar, bringing his lips to hers once again.

"Lorelai!" Chris exclaims, stepping back just a bit. She raises an eyebrow suggestively. "How about I meet you and Rory your parents' on Friday and then we'll have the whole weekend together?"

"The whole weekend? I don't know what we'll do," Lorelai says innocently. Chris winks. They smile at each other for a moment.

"Okay, well, now I'm going to go. Tell Rory she better be done packing before Friday so we can have some bonding time on Saturday before we ship her off."

"Ay ay Captain." Lorelai salutes. He kisses her softly, grabs his suitcase and leaves. Lorelai watches him go, twisting her hands together. She smiles to herself and goes upstairs to change for work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes:** Yes, I do realize that many people don't like Chris, but I can't get Luke and Lorelai together right away. The story would be only 2 pages long then! So, Chris is going to be around, for a little while anyways. But I do promise that Luke and Lorelai will get together.

Anyways, just wanted to respond to the reviews. Keep it up!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Friday Night Dinner**

Lorelai slams the door of the jeep as she gets out of the jeep. "Thank God I don't have to come back for 10 weeks. This is going to be the most amazing 10 weeks of my life," she says gleefully.

"But I'm not going to be here the entire 10 weeks either," Rory reminds her. Lorelai frowns thinking about that for a moment.

"It's an even exchange," Lorelai figures.

"Hey Lucy Mason!" Rory pushes her mother's arm playfully. Lorelai wraps her arm around Rory's as they walk over to the door. "You really are going to miss me aren't you?" she asks sadly. Lorelai hugs Rory.

"Of course," Lorelai says as Emily opens the door. "Speaking of Lucy Mason…" Lorelai mutters.

"Hello Girls," Emily welcomes them. They walk in, Lorelai behind Rory. "Rory, how does it feel to be done with another year of high school?"

"It's nice. Next year's my last year, so I'm kinda looking forward to that."

"I'm sure you are," Emily says, putting her arm around Rory. "Where's Christopher?"

"Oh, he's on his way," Lorelai says, distracted. She glances back to see if Chris is pulling in the driveway yet.

"Come on, your grandfather and I have to tell you all the sights to see in DC," Emily says, leading Rory into the living room. Rory smiles at Emily. "Lorelai, are you coming?"

"Oh, Chris just got here, I'll meet you in there."

"Fine," Emily replies. She and Rory walk away together.

Lorelai goes back outside and watches Chris turn off his car and get out. "Welcome back to Connecticut," she says. He walks over to her smiling.

"It's good to be back. The air seems sweeter."

"Probably because of the wonderful woman standing right in front of you," Lorelai responds, smiling. Chris leans down and kisses her as Lorelai wraps her arms around his neck.

"You look beautiful."

"Aw, I think someone missed me," Lorelai teases. They kiss again.

"We'd better go in before there's another Rory," Chris says. Lorelai nods.

They take hands and walk in and over to the living room. "Christopher!" Emily exclaims.

"Hello again Christopher," Richard adds.

"Hello Richard, Emily," he says, shaking hands with each.

"How was the trip in from Boston?" Richard asks.

"Faster than expected. I guess more people wanted to go to Boston this weekend than Hartford." Chris notices Rory. "Hey Kiddo!" Rory walks over and hugs her dad. "All packed for DC?"

"No, someone wouldn't let me," Rory responds, glaring at Lorelai.

"I do not know what you're talking about, you must be mistaking me for your other mother," Lorelai claims. Rory rolls her eyes.

"Lor, Rory was supposed to be all packed so we could all hang together tonight," Chris says.

"Well, blame Rory, she's the one who didn't pack!"

"Hey, you're the one who wouldn't let me. You said if I did, it would mean I was actually leaving and that even Norman Bates never did that to his mother." Chris looks at Lorelai, who blushes.

"Yeah, I said that," she admits. Chris shakes his head. "Hey pour me some wine, por favor," she adds, changing the subject. Lorelai sits down on the couch.

"So, Christopher, how's the new job?" Richard asks, taking his drink and sitting down in a chair.

"Not bad." Chris hands a soda to Rory and then walks over to sit next to Lorelai, holding his scotch and handing her the wine glass. Rory sits across from them next to Emily.

"Are you getting to travel?"

"A little. Mostly just around Boston and few times to New York."

"And hereabouts sometimes," Lorelai flirts. Chris nods, rubbing her knee. Richard and Emily exchange pleased looks.

"So I hear you two are heading to Martha's Vineyard for the summer," Chris says to the elder Gilmores.

"Yes, we thought about Europe but we haven't been to the Vineyard for a year and summer in the Vineyard is beautiful," Emily replies.

"So I hear," Chris says.

"So I guess it will just be you two here for the summer," Emily hints, smiling at Chris and Lorelai.

"Yes, I suppose so," Lorelai responds, nonchalantly.

"Actually I'll be in Boston," Chris says.

"But here on the weekends."

"Yes, here on the weekends." Chris squeezes Lorelai's knee. Rory smiles, happy to see her parents together at last.

"So, Rory, is Dean going to be here while you're in Washington?" Emily asks. Rory blushes.

"No, he left this afternoon to spend time with his grandparents. But he gave me his phone number there and I'll give him mine in DC when I find it out." Lorelai watches Rory carefully. "It will be strange to be apart for so long," Rory adds. Lorelai breathes an unnoticeable sigh of relief.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes:** Amazingly enough I actually have gotten two chapters posted in one day. I promise the next one will have much more Luke and Lorelai in it, but these are all serving to set up the story. Hopefully tomorrow's Valentine's Day episode will really put me in the mood to write LL.

Oh and if you haven't seen any of the movies I mention in this chapter, I highly recommend all of them!

And as always, keep reviewing! I write for you!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Some Friday Night in July**

**At Lorelai's House **

"Lorelai! I'm here! I picked up the Chinese on the way!" Chris yells walking into Lorelai's house. She runs down the stairs in the grungiest clothes she owns. "What are you wearing?" Lorelai smiles.

"I'm continuing my 'I don't have to go to Friday Night Dinner' celebration," she announces. Chris nods. He takes the Chinese out of the bag and starts setting it out on the table. "I don't think you got enough." Chris looks back at her.

"I got pepper steak, moo shu pork and general tso's chicken. Three entrees for two people," Chris says. Lorelai looks at him like he's insane.

"Not enough. One time, Rory and I ordered one of everything on the menu except the mixed veggies and we managed to eat it all within a week. Besides, we're having a movie night, this really isn't enough." Chris looks back down at the food, defeated.

"Can't say I didn't try…" He collapses on the couch. Lorelai smiles.

"It's okay I ordered pizza and there's leftover dessert from the meeting at the inn in the fridge."

"You're always prepared."

"Like the boy scouts." Chris chuckles. "So, any requests for tonight?"

"I thought we'd watch a classic."

"_Citizen Kane_?" Lorelai asks. Chris shakes his head. "_Casablanca?_" He shakes his head again. "_The Way We Were_?" Again, he shakes his head. "Come on Chris, give it up!"

"_For Keeps_."

"Ah, my life played by Molly Ringwald." Chris nods. "Sometimes there are movies I can completely identify with."

"Like _Batteries Not Included_?"

"Exactly," Lorelai responds. "If I were a robot." The phone rings. "I'll get it!" She runs over to the phone. "Hello?"

"Excuse me is this Lorelai Gilmore?" Rory's voice comes over the phone.

"That's what it says on my birth certificate."

"Mine too!"

"No way!" They laugh. "Hey kid, how's DC treating you? Paris still dragging you to every civil war monument she can find?"

"Ug, yes. There are 13 million of then and I swear she's found every one," Rory complains.

"Aw, Sweetie, you're having fun though right?"

"Yes, I'm having fun. But I miss you."

"Miss you too, Babe. It's not the same. Your dad won't let me watch _The Ghost and Mr. Chicken_."

"Really? But that's one of the best movies ever! Don Knotts. Scary music. Alma is the only woman in the whole town under the age of 50. How can he possibly pass it up?" Lorelai shrugs.

"I dunno, he's your father."

"Hey!" Chris exclaims, suddenly listening in on the conversation. Lorelai winks at him. "Let me talk to her." Lorelai walks over and flounces down next to him.

"Hey, Hun, your dad wants to say hi, now be nice, he can't help if he's not a movie addict." Chris rolls his eyes. He wraps an arm around Lorelai as she snuggles into him and hands him the phone.

"Hey Ror."

"Hey Pops, you treating Mom nice?"

"Better than she treats me." Rory smiles.

"That's Mom. So you really like spending time in Stars Hallow?"

"Sure, it's a nice town. Although your mom doesn't like me to wander around. She really hates it when I try to go to her favorite coffee place." Lorelai looks down, hiding the fact that she's blushing.

"Mom has her reasons."

"I'm sure. Okay well, Rory, have a good week and I'll talk to you later. Here's your Mom," Chris says and hands the phone back to Lorelai.

"You still have everything you need?" Lorelai asks.

"Yeah. Mom, you're happy aren't you?" Lorelai looks at Chris and smiles. He kisses her temple.

"Yeah, Rory. I am."

"Good. I better go. We have an early tour of the Hirshhorn Museum and Paris thinks the best way to be on time is to leave 8 hours before we have to be there."

"Well sounds fun."

"Yeah…"

"Okay, well Sweets, I love you and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Love ya too." Rory hangs up. Lorelai hangs up too and looks up into Christopher's eyes.

"You are never going to get me to watch that movie, no matter what bargains you make," Chris insists

"Dirty!" Lorelai responds, arching an eyebrow. Chris leans in and kisses her. "Okay, well I'm going to go get the desserts and you get the movie ready." She bounces into the kitchen. She glances out the window at the toolbox on the porch from Luke's last porch fixing and sighs, questioning her situation for just a moment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes:** Well after last nights episode, I really wanted to sit down and write another whole story about Luke and Lorelai. About what she should have said and he should have said and them being more of a couple than they've been lately, but what Luke's "I love you" is always nice to hear. Anyways, I figured class was a better idea so here are Luke and Lorelai in my story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A Market in Woodbury**

"So you have enough blueberries?" Luke asks the manager. He nods. "You're sure? Because Taylor promises to get them for me weekly for my blueberry pancakes but this week he suddenly decided to not order them."

"I'll have Jake over there drop them off after work," the manager replies. He points at a boy putting apples in a bin. Luke nods.

"Okay, fine." Luke nods and leaves the store in a rush. As he walks out he runs smack into a woman. "Oh, sorry." He grabs her arm to help her and finally looks at her. "Anna?"

"Luke!" Anna exclaims, surprised. "Long time."

"Yeah, well, yeah," Luke stammers. "I didn't realize you still lived near here."

"Yeah, April and I have a house in Woodbury."

"April?" Anna motions to the 9 year old standing next to her. "Oh, uh, hi." Luke waves, his usual discomfort around children coming out.

"April, this is Luke Danes."

"Hello," April says plainly. "You know if you stopped shifting around like that, you wouldn't look like you have to go to the bathroom," she comments. Anna smiles at Luke, who is suddenly very still. He glances over at Anna.

"Hey, April, go on inside the market, I'll meet you inside."

"Okay, it was nice to meet you Mr. Danes." April walks inside the market and both Anna and Luke watch her walk inside.

"It's so amazing to run into you again, Anna. It's been what 9 years?" Luke asks. Anna raises an eyebrow at Luke.

"Yes, I mean just look at how old April is," Anna responds. She quickly bites her lip hoping that Luke didn't notice.

"April? Why would that…" Luke trails off, staring at the door April just entered into. His jaw drops open.

"Luke… I…"

"Anna, is she…?" Luke can't seem to get the words out. Anna nods, swallowing.

"She's yours." Luke is speechless. For a moment, he concentrates on breathing. "Luke, did you hear me?" Luke turns his gaze to Anna.

"Yes, Anna, I heard you. I heard you now, 9 years after the fact." Anna looks down. "Why am I finding this now? And would I have even found this out if I hadn't run into you?"

"Literally," Anna adds. Luke glares at her. Anna sighs. "I don't know, Luke. I really don't know." Luke sighs, hands on hips. "I found out I was pregnant after we broke up and look at you, you're still not that great around children."

"Other people's children, who knows how I would be around my own! You never gave me a chance!" Luke yells.

"I know… I just…."

"I can't believe this, I can't believe you. We broke up so peacefully, we just didn't belong together." Luke sighs. "So, this is why you stopped talking to me?" Anna nods. "Wow."

"I'm sorry Luke, I was really stupid. But as time went by, it just got harder and harder to tell you," Anna insists. Luke shakes his head again.

"Okay, I have to – I'm going to, just give me a little bit. I'll – uh – call you later," Luke manages, holding up a hand. Anna nods. He looks at her like he wants to say something and then, letting his hand finally drop, walks away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Luke's Diner, Next Day**

"Lu-uke!' Lorelai sings, walking into the diner. Luke glances up at her from behind the counter.

"Get a table," he grumbles. Lorelai walks over to a table in the corner where two people are already sitting.

"Hello there, how are you? Would you mind moving?" Lorelai asks sweetly.

"Lorelai!" Luke walks briskly over to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her away. "I swear, if you do that one more time, I'm giving you decaf for a week."

"Dirty!"

"Dirty? How on earth was that dirty?" Luke asks. Lorelai winks. Luke rolls his eyes.

"Okay, Sebastian," Lorelai replies.

"Sebastian?" Luke asks, leading her over to the counter.

"Yeah, you know, the crab from _The Little Mermaid_, cuz you're a crab."

"Uh, Lorelai, Sebastian was a lobster." Lorelai pauses and thinks about that for a moment.

"You've seen _The Little Mermaid_?" Lorelai asks, grinning. Luke rolls his eyes. "And the truth comes out about Luke Danes!"

"Lorelai…." Luke sighs exasperated. Lorelai climbs onto a stool at the counter, pulling her purse into her lap. Luke walks around to stand in front of her on the other side of the counter. "Coffee?"

"Yes, and I'll have the Luke's in a crappy mood special," Lorelai jokes.

"I'm not in a crappy mood."

"Oh no, I forgot, you're always a grump." Luke sighs, exasperated. "With fries please." She grins. Luke nods. He writes it down and walks over to hand the order to Caesar. "So why the bad mood, Oscar?"

"You really wanna know?" He walks back over to stand in front of her.

"Always. Patty can't always be first with the gossip. I'll show her. I'm the Queen of the Luke Gossip."

"What a great title to have," Luke says, sarcastically. Lorelai folds her hands on counter in front of her, waiting patiently. Luke leans toward her, putting both hands on the edge of the counter on his side. "I ran into my ex, Anna Nardini yesterday. She had a kid with her. She said it's mine." Lorelai's mouth drops open.

"You procreated?" Lorelai gasps.

"See, I knew I shouldn't have told you." Luke grabs a coffee cup, fills it up and puts it in front of her.

"No, I'm just surprised, probably not as much as you are." She mulls it over for a moment. "Was the kid wearing flannel?"

"Lorelai!" Luke yells.

"Well, I mean then I would definitely know he was yours."

"She, it's a girl." He leans back against the counter behind him crossing his arms in front of him.

"A girl? Wow, I cannot imagine you as a little girl." Lorelai sizes him up. "Nope, really cannot see it."

"I do have a sister, although she doesn't look a lot like me. Liz looks more like my mother did. You know I have a sister. Jess…" Lorelai nods, ignoring the mention of Jess.

"So what's she like?"

"I don't know. I didn't really get to know her. April. That's her name. I was still trying to wrap my mind around it so I told Anna I'd get back to her later." Lorelai stares at him. "What do you think I should do?"

"Be a father. Think about where Rory would be if Chris had been there her whole life." Lorelai lifts her coffee cup and drinks a little as Luke ponders this.

"But you're such a good mother, Lorelai. She doesn't seem to need anyone else. You're enough for her," Luke says. Lorelai shrugs.

"Probably wouldn't have been if Chris had always been there. And it's not so much that Rory didn't turn out well, cuz come on, you know Rory. But she missed out. Chris should have been a much bigger part of her life. And she realizes it more and more every time he comes around." Luke nods.

"He's been coming around a lot more lately?" Lorelai drinks her coffee, smiling to herself. She nods. "Well, that's good," Luke manages. "Rory's happy about it I'm sure."

"Well, she will be when she gets back at least."

"Right." Luke picks up a rag and begins wiping down the counter. "And you're happy?" He pauses and looks at her. They share a look.

"Yes, yes I am," Lorelai responds. Luke isn't sure if she's telling the truth or trying to convince herself that she is. He goes back to wiping the counter. "It's still something new I'm getting used to," she says by way of explanation.

"New? You've known him for how long?"

"Well new, in the sense that he's matured. I never would have considered this until he did. Not for a moment." Lorelai looks down into her coffee cup, thinking about this.

"Well that's good," Luke says. He stops his work right in front of her. She looks up into his eyes. Touching her hand lightly he says, "I'm just glad you're happy, Lorelai. You deserve it." They gaze at each other for a moment, neither wanting to break away.

"Thank you," Lorelai says quietly. "I do. I do deserve it." She smiles at him and goes back to drinking her coffee.

"I'll get your food." Luke walks away. Lorelai watches him for a moment and then goes back to her coffee.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Just a few more notes:** I wrote this chapter before last night's episode. I've always thought April was adorable and I actually don't mind that she's on GG but if LL would just talk about it, I'd be a whole lot happier. Basically, here I'm introducing her before they get together, as a way to bring them together and so they actually know where they stand on the April issue when they get together.

And as always, keep reviewing! I hope you can deal with a few more LC scenes, I'm not sure what I have planned next but the first few chapters are all just setting the whole thing up. Oh I know, Rory will be back next chapter so you can expect her to have some affect on the whole LL vs LC situation.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes**: I'm glad you guys are sticking with me here. I want Luke and Lorelai together too, but I wanted to do this realistically. So I'm glad you're sticking with me through the Christopher stuff.

Now I've gotten up to the beginning of season 3 so the chapters will follow along with some of what happened in season 3 (mostly the Rory stuff with Jess and Dean will be the same). Some scenes will be rewritten to go along with the story.

Also, just a plug of my own, if you want to read another LL fic check out my new oneshot Against All Odds. Now back to the story...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Lorelai's House**

Lorelai is having her dream about Luke cooking in the kitchen and kissing her and talking to her stomach. She wakes up suddenly, falling out of bed. "Whaa...?" she mutters, rubbing her head. Sighing she reaches up to the table above her for the phone, dialing quickly.

"I'm disowning you," says the tired voice on the other end of the phone.

"You can't disown me, I'm the elder Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai whines, still rubbing her head.

"Mom, it's three in the morning, what could you possibly want?" Rory whines, not much different from Lorelai's whine.

"Rory, I had another dream."

"About Dad?"

"No, when's the last time I dreamed about him? I don't dream about people I'm supposed to dream about, people I'm actually dating. That would be too easy. My life is never easy," Lorelai rants sleepily.

"Sorry."

"Rory!" Rory sits up, yawning and actually glancing at the time on the clock, which, in fact, reads 4:30.

"Okay, I'm up. You're worse than Max Connors," Rory mumbles.

"But she owned up to all her crimes so that Page could marry the bartender!"

"Yes, but she did try to destroy Page's life before that," Rory says. Lorelai nods, thinking about it. "So, tell me about the dream." Rory gets comfortable in bed, ready to really get into the dream.

"Well it was just – it was crazy – I mean alarm clocks everywhere, going off, and then, then I went downstairs and Luke was there – Luke – cooking"

"Naked?"

"No, Rory, flannelled. But he was there and then he kissed me and he talked to my stomach!"

"Really? That's odd."

"I was pregnant with twins."

"So, not so odd."

"Rory! I was kissing Luke! And having his twins! And married to Luke! And wearing a fabulous nightgown!" Lorelai rants. Rory smiles.

"Maybe you're secretly in love with Luke and you want to have his twins," Rory suggests.

"Veto."

"What?"

"I vetoed your analysis." Rory glances around

"Wait a second, I'm the one in DC." Lorelai sighs. "Okay, maybe you are thinking about Dad and the fact that you two could finally have it all, a family, and you're putting Luke in Dad's place because he just found out he has a family he never knew about." Lorelai frowns, thinking about it. "Mom, it's going to work out. He promised both of us."

"I know…." Lorelai rubs her eyes. "Is Paris being quiet for once?" Rory glances up at her roommate.

"For once. I can finally get some sleep now. Except my evil mother woke me up." Lorelai smiles.

"Okay, okay, I can take a hint. Go back to sleep. I'll see you on Friday."

"I love you, Mom."

"Love ya too, kid." Lorelai hangs up the phone and sits there for a moment. Sighing, she sleepily climbs back into bed and goes to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Friday in the town square**

Lorelai and Rory are walking through the center of town, trying to ignore the constant sounds of the acapella singers. "Seriously, I never thought I hated this song that much," Lorelai comments, when the singers restart the _lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer_ for the umpteenth time.

"It's actually growing on me," Rory says. Lorelai smirks.

"Like a fungus?" Rory shrugs. "So, I got you out of Friday Night Dinner, I thought that you and Dean could spend some time together, snogging, doing all those things that can make a single girl nauseous."

"But you're not single," Rory notes. Lorelai shrugs.

"True, but I've seen my guy every weekend for months, I don't need to spend the night whispering sweet nothings," Lorelai responds. Rory rolls her eyes.

"Don't be gross."

"Hey Gilmores!" Christopher calls, walking over.

"Hey there!" Lorelai says. He drapes an arm around her waist and leans in for a kiss. Rory can't help but smile. "Hey, not in front of the kid," she flirts. Chris looks over at Rory and smiles.

"Hey Kiddo!" Chris and Rory hug. "Glad to be back in this part of the country?"

"Am I ever? DC was fun, but being with Paris every moment of every day for 10 weeks are enough to make you feel like you're in hell."

"Aw, she just missed Mommy," Lorelai teases. "So when does Dean get in?"

"You two are still together?" Chris asks. Rory nods. "Yeah, but you were able to stay in contact during the summer?" As Chris and Rory turn to continue their conversation, Lorelai glances over at Luke's Diner, wriggling out of Chris's embrace.

Luke glances out the window of the diner as he pours coffee for someone in the front table. He catches Lorelai's gaze and smiles. She hesitates to wave and, instead, nods, smiling. Luke walks away from the window, but Lorelai is still watching.

"Anyways, he promised to meet me here so I'm excited," Rory finishes.

"Our little girl's all grown up," Chris says. Lorelai glances up at Chris and then suddenly smiles, realizing he's talking to her.

"Uh, yeah, yeah she is. But she's still 8 to me," Lorelai stammers. She reaches out and pinches Rory's cheek

"Makes me feel old," Chris says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"You are old. But you're my old man," Lorelai teases, taking his hand in hers.

"Hey!" Chris nods his head at Rory, who isn't looking at them. "Well…" He quickly kisses Lorelai, but she's watching Rory and following Rory's gaze over to Jess, who is kissing Shane.

"Rory?" Lorelai reaches out and rubs Rory's arm. "You okay?"

"What? Me? I'm fine. No, I'm fine," Rory stammers. Lorelai nods, obviously not believing her. Chris watches the two, unaware of what's going on.

"Fine? Riiiiight," Lorelai says. Rory purses her lips. "Did something happen?" Rory glances over at Chris. Lorelai smiles at him. "Hey, Hun, can you go over to Luke's and get us some coffee?"

"Luke's? You want me to go to Luke's? You never let me go to Luke's!" Lorelai looks shocked.

"I never told you that! You do what you want to do!" she retorts. Chris raises an eyebrow. He kisses her.

"I'm not sure what that was about, but I will go and get the coffee." Chris watches away. Lorelai has a strange expression on her face. She glances back at Rory.

"I have no idea what he's talking about," Lorelai insists. Rory nods, hands on hips. She casts a sidelong glance over at Jess and Shane. "So, why don't you explain to me what's going on here? I thought you didn't even know he was back."

"I saw him. At Sookie's wedding."

"Sookie's wedding? Whaa… okay…" Lorelai's shaking her head like she's disappointed.

"He came. He came to see me. And I – we – kissed."

"You kissed?" Rory nods. "You kissed him or he kissed you?"

"I kissed him." Lorelai is really giving Rory a disappointed look now.

"But, you're still with Dean? I mean, I'm not crazy, you are still with Dean aren't you?" Rory crosses her arms, upset. "Rory?"

"Yes! Yes! I'm still with Dean!" Lorelai scratches her head. "I – I don't know, Mom – I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For me? What? I…" Lorelai shakes her head again. Chris walks back over with the coffees. "Rory, I love you. I just don't want you to ruin what a great thing you've got going with Dean. This is your last year in high school and I want you to be happy. So – it's up to you. You do what you want, as long as you're happy." She takes one of the coffees from Chris. "Okay, Rory?" Rory nods. Lorelai rubs Rory's arm. "I just want you to be happy." Rory nods and smiles up at Lorelai.


	8. Chapter 8

**Lorelai's House**

Lorelai walks into the living room holding two wine glasses. "So this is when we celebrate in style?" Chris asks. Lorelai grins and hands him a glass. "What are we drinking to?"

"Umm… Friday Night? No dinner? What else?"

"Okay, but you do realize this isn't something we have to celebrate. I mean, you're supposed to be there. We're basically celebrating the fact that your parents are going to hold this over your head for the rest of your life?" Lorelai shrugs.

"If that's the case." She walks over to the couch and sits down. "So, do you want any say in what we watch tonight?" Chris smiles and walks over to sit next to her.

"Are you sure you're okay with us not going tonight?" he wonders. She looks at him like he's crazy.

"Not going to my parents is the dream of a lifetime. Besides, they deserve it, they were the jerks last week who decided to jump down my throat for no reason. Not that that was anything new, but I still didn't deserve it. I'm happy, don't I look happy? I mean even Virginia Woolf was happy once in awhile. She had to be. Nicole Kidman played her in a movie and Nicole could not ruin that perfect face being mopey all the time," Lorelai rants. Chris grabs her arms as she's waving them around.

"Okay! Okay! Well, hopefully Rory will have a good time without us," Chris says. Lorelai nods.

"She will," Lorelai assures him, patting his knee. "So, did you pick a movie yet, or is it finally time to watch Hardbodies?" Chris smiles at her for a moment. Lorelai glances around a little unsure. "What? Do I have something on my face?" She kinda brushes her nose. Chris laughs.

"You know, Lorelai. I'm really glad we're together. This is going really for us. Isn't it?" Chris watches Lorelai's face. She nods. "Okay, well I just wanted to say that. And that I'm glad we're together. You know, I've always loved you but I never really loved you the way I should until now. So, yeah, that's what I wanted to say." Lorelai looks pleased and blushes. Embarressed, she shuffles around, picking up the remote and plays with it. "And…"

"Oh, there's more." Lorelai sits back putting the remote down. Chris winks and gets down in front of her on one knee. "Oh…." Lorelai sits up, her mouth dropping open.

"Lor, the last time I proposed to you I didn't really mean it. You were right not to marry me then. I was confused. I was immature. I didn't really understand what love was or what we were doing. But now everything's changed. And we're good together. And we've become a family and I want that family to be perfect. So, Lor, will you marry me?" He takes a box out of the inside pocket of his suit coat and opens it to reveal a beautiful engagement ring. Lorelai's hand goes to her chest as she tries to remember to breathe. She has a shocked expression on her face. "Lor?"

"Oh, wow, Chris…" She looks a little confused, like she's trying to think but not really coming up with anything. "Are you sure?" Chris looks confused. "I ah - mean - ah - are you really sure? It's only been a few months."

"What? Yes, Lor, yes I'm sure, I've never been more sure. I want to marry you with all my heart. I've never wanted anything this much. So I'm going to ask you again, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, will you marry me?" Chris watches her expression, expectantly. As Lorelai takes a deep breath before possibly taking the biggest step of her life.

"Yes!" she exclaims.

"You're still seeming a little befuddled." Lorelai giggles.

"No, no, I'm sure. I'll marry you, Chris. We, you, me, we're going to get married. Yes." She finally smiles for the first time since the question was first proposed. Putting the ring on her finger, Chris cups her chin and kisses her. Lorelai looks down at the ring watching it glitter.

"It was my grandmother's," Chris says, sitting down next to her. He takes her hand, both still looking at the ring.

"It's beautiful, Chris." Lorelai looks over at him, eyes shining and then kisses him.

"So, we should celebrate." Lorelai's face lights up.

"Dirty!" Chris laughs.

"But Rory…."

"Won't be home for hours," Lorelai insists. Chris stands and scoops Lorelai up into his arms.

"Celebration begins!" He carries her up the stairs as Lorelai laughs the whole way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes**: Yes, I know this probably doesn't make you happy, but it's Chris. And I wrote it this way for a reason making the proposal sound like a certain movie because I always liked how they did it in that movie. Since it's supposed to be the easiest decision you ever make, at least that's what they said in the movie, and it shows something that it wasn't the easiest decision for her. If you know what movie I'm talking about you'll understand.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes:** And I'm posting two in one day because I don't want to scare you with the last chapter. Just so you know, I promised this will be a Luke and Lorelai story and it will be. Don't give up on me yet! But please do keep on reviewing.**  
**

**Luke's Diner**

Luke and April are sitting across from each other at a table. The diner is unoccupied except for them. They're just sitting there, not really saying much.

"Coo-fee!" Lorelai sings, walking into the diner. "Coffee, coffee, coffee!" Luke rolls his eyes. "Oh!" She stops, seeing Luke and April at the table. April glances between them but says nothing. "You must be April," Lorelai says, walking over to the table.

"Wow, this is a small town," April comments.

"Well, yes it is, April. But that's not how I know, your – Luke – he told me about you," Lorelai says. April glances over at Luke. "You see, we – Luke and I – we're friends. He gives me coffee and I, well, I don't know what my part is in this whole thing, but the coffee and the food thing, that's him," Lorelai rambles. April cracks a smile, which Lorelai can't see, since she's standing behind April.

"She's good with words," Luke says. April laughs.

"So, what have you two been up to? I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Lorelai says. April raises an eyebrow at Luke. He sighs.

"He was just asking if I like to play house," April says, glancing over her shoulder at Lorelai, who smirks.

"What!" Luke exclaims.

"Nothing!" Lorelai responds. Her eyes are wide and innocent. Luke shakes his head. "Have you ever spent time with a 9 year old before?"

"Rory."

"Rory was 10 when you met her and, when I say that, I mean 10 going on 20." Luke shrugs.

"I'm working on this…" Luke growls. Lorelai nods, but she's still smirking. "Okay," he says, standing. "Let me get you your coffee." He walks over to the coffee pot behind the counter. Lorelai follows closely behind him, almost stepping on his heels.

"So, Luke, you guys are having fun? You're getting along okay?" Lorelai probes. Luke nods, picking up a to-go cup and filling it with coffee. He hands it to her and kinda moves back to get her off his back.

"I confess I have no idea what I'm doing," Luke mumbles, leaning in to keep April from overhearing. Lorelai smiles and doesn't looks surprised.

"I'm shocked. I was just about to nominate you for Father of the Year." Luke glares at her.

"I wasn't prepared!" Lorelai throws her hands up in in the air.

"Who is? You think I was prepared to be a mother when Rory came around?" Lorelai frowns in sympathy. "What can I do to help?"

"Come every Monday." Lorelai raises an eyebrow. Luke sighs. "Anna's bringing her by to spend time every Monday and if you were here to ease things between up, it would help a lot." Lorelai purses her lips, mulling the idea over.

"Okay, deal. You provide the coffee, I'll help you out. And in a few weeks, you won't even need me." Luke nods, a little unsure. She rubs his arm with her left hand. "You'll be fine." Luke looks down at her hand and stares. "Oh!" She draws her hand back quickly. Luke slowly moves his eyes from the rock on her finger to her face, a little confused.

"Lorelai?" Lorelai smiles nervously.

"Chris and I are getting married," she tells him, hoping her voice doesn't betray her.

"Wow. Um, congratulations," he manages. Lorelai bites her lower lip. "I'm happy for you."

"Really? Cuz I wasn't sure if you would be…" She seems a little afraid of his answer almost hoping that he'll say he's not happy with her decision, but Luke shrugs.

"Why wouldn't I be? You're getting married. You're marrying your daughter's father. And you're happy. Why wouldn't I be happy for you?" He smiles, a comforting smile. Lorelai nods, a little unsure herself.

"Good, good." She swallows hard. "That's good." Luke nods. They stare at each other. Lorelai takes a deep breath and slowly pulls her gaze away and over to April. She walks over to the girl, sitting down next to her. "So, April, you're in 3rd grade?"

"4th actually. I'm young for my grade, but Mom says that's good, makes me work harder," April says. Lorelai nods, drinking some of her coffee.

"Yeah, my daughter, Rory, loved 4th grade. She and her best friend, Lane, were finally in the same class again. Rory's in high school now. Time flies." April nods. Luke walks over and sits down across from April, putting a cheese sandwich in front of her.

"I barely remember 4th grade," Luke says. Lorelai gasps.

"You were a child once? I thought you came out a gruff burger man!" Luke glares at her. Lorelai winks. She looks over at April. "Actually, Luke used to run track in high school. Do you play any sports?"

"Some. Mom's not a big fan of it, but I joined the running club at school and I played softball last summer," April says.

"Softball? Well, Luke is a big fan of baseball!" April raises her eyebrows at Luke.

"My uncle takes me to see the Baltimore Orioles every summer," April says.

"Luke's a big Red Sox fan," Lorelai says.

"Yes, I am." Luke's eyes smile at Lorelai, grateful for her help. He then slides his eyes back over to April.

"I heard they were going to have a good year this year, with Pedro and everything," April comments.

"That's what I heard too, but then things sort of fizzled," Luke says. He winks at Lorelai, and moves over to sit next to April, so they can talk baseball. Lorelai smiles, proud of herself, glad that she could help Luke out. She glances down at the ring on her finger, playing with it thoughtfully. She's lost in her own thoughts as Luke and April chatter at the table. Looking back up at the two of them, she can sense them already beginning to get close, quickly disolving the space that separated the two of them. She smiles to herself, knowing that she was watching a family being formed with her own eyes. A man becoming a father and letting himself begin to love the girl that is his daughter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes:** Cheers for **lorelai gilmore danes1. **Absolutely correct. The movie I based the proposal on was Sweet Home Alabama. I always liked how she wasn't sure and he had to ask twice and then later on in the movie they mention that it's supposed to be the easiest decision you ever make and she realizes it wasn't the easiest decision for her. Now I'm rambling...

Anyways, back to the story. I'm going somewhere with this, so try to stay with me, in fact I think you'll start seeing it. And, as always, keep reviewing!

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

**Friday Night Dinner**

"Have I already told you how much I don't want to be here?" Lorelai asks, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her. Chris and Rory share a look as they walk up to the front door. Lorelai is slowly walking behind them. "I mean you keep saying they'll be happy. For the life of me, I can't think of a moment they were happy with me." Rory frowns, considering this. Lorelai gives them an 'I told you so' look.

"Come on, Lor," Chris says. He takes Lorelai's hand and holds tightly, somewhat in fear that she might run when the door opens. Rory rings the doorbell.

Within moments, Emily opens the door. "Come on, no time to waste," Emily crabs walking quickly away. Lorelai and Chris share a look. Lorelai pushes Rory in the door in front of her.

"Hey!" Rory exclaims.

"You're cute, she wouldn't hurt you," Lorelai insists. Rory huffs. All three hand their coats to the maid and quickly follow Emily into the living room.

"Your drinks are on the table already," Emily comments. Lorelai glances around unsure about what's going on. Rory picks up her glass of soda and sits down.

"Mom, what's going on?" Lorelai asks.

"Your father has to be back at work tonight for a phone call and we only have so much time so I didn't want to waste it with nonsense."

"A phone call? At what time?"

"It's with Japan, I don't really know what that's all about," Emily snaps. Lorelai stands frozen. Chris puts an arm around her comfortingly. He picks up her wine glass and hands it to her.

"So, Emily, will Richard be joining us at all?" Chris asks. He leads Lorelai over the couch and sits down next to Rory. Lorelai's still standing until Chris grabs her hand and pulls her down next to him.

"Yes, he should be out here. Richard!" she screeches. Lorelai looks horrified.

"Are you going to tell them?" Chris whispers to Lorelai. She shakes her head quickly, but downing the wine in the glass. "Lorelai…"

"I'm seeing my life flash before my eyes," she whispers back. Chris shakes his head. Richard walks in the room.

"Well hello there, Rory, Christopher, Lorelai. Sorry, it's been a hectic day. And I guess Emily's already told you about my phone call," Richard says. "Well, shall we start dinner?" Chris looks at Lorelai, hinting with his eyes. She shakes her head.

"First, Lorelai and I have some news," Chris says. Richard sits down, willing to listen.

"Christopher!" Lorelai whispers sharply, actually looking freightened to tell her parents. Rory cross her hands in her lap, keeping as invisible as possible.

"Last week I proposed to Lorelai and she said yes," Chris says. Lorelai swallows hard.

"Congratulations," Richard says happily. He shakes Chris's hand as if sealing the deal. They look over at Emily, who hasn't moved.

"Congratulations," she says simply. Lorelai's mouth drops open.

"Congratulations? That's it?" Lorelai asks. Chris rubs Lorelai's knee, hoping to calm her down. Lorelai shakes her head.

"What would you like me to say Lorelai?" Emily snaps. Richard and Chris share a look.

"Well, how about dinner?" Richard says, standing and clapping his hands together.

"Yes! Dinner!" Rory exclaims. She and Chris quickly stand up and follow Richard into the dining room. Lorelai and Emily remain staring at each other.

"I can't believe that's all you have to say! You've been going on and on forever about how I should be with Chris. How Chris and I should get married. How it should've been Lorelai... Remember?" Lorelai says angrily.

"Of course I remember that Lorelai. But tell me, how long ago was it that you were engaged to Max Medina?"

"I don't know, a year?"

"Exactly!" Emily stands.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lorelai shouts, standing as well.

"How can I possibly believe that this is it for you Lorelai? You claimed to be in love with Max and that didn't end well. This is Rory's father! What do you think it will do to her when you realize you don't love Christopher?"

"She's 18 not 8! I think she can handle that! Besides, who says I don't love Christopher? I've always wanted to be with Chris!"

"If you always wanted to be with Christopher then you would have married him a long time ago. Besides, you weren't in love with Max and I never knew you to claim to love Christopher. And how long ago was it that you admitted to having feelings for that diner man, Luke?"

"Luke!" Lorelai shouts throwing her hands up in frustration. "Ug! Mom! Is that what this is about?"

"Do you still have feelings for him?"

"I never had feelings for him!" Lorelai exclaims.

"That's not what you said before. Not what you said when I found you working in his restaurant." Lorelai flings her hands in the air again.

"I cannot believe you!" She stomps out of the room and into the kitchen. The maids glance up at her and go back to their work. Lorelai digs in her purse for her cell phone. Pulling it out, Lorelai angrily presses the familiar numbers.

Lorelai puts the phone to her ear, her foot tapping incessantly. The maid glances over at her again. She huffs and turns to face the wall, her hand rubbing her forehead.

"Hello?" says a woman's voice.

"Luke?" Lorelai asks, a confused look on her face.

"This is Anna, he's upstairs, I'm just answering the phone for a moment. Should I go get him?" Lorelai's mouth drops open a pained expression coming over her face.

"No. Thanks," she answers softly. Lorelai hangs up and looks down at her phone sadly. She puts the phone back in her purse and glances at the ring on her finger. She plays with it thoughtfully, still pouting. Sighing, she leaves the kitchen to go have dinner with the family.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes:** Hey all, since I didn't post anything yesterday, today's will be a little longer.

And today is my birthday! Yay! So, write me lots of happy reviews, I love what I've read so far. And as my birthday present to you: lots of Luke and Lorelai! Yay! Okay, back to the story...

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

**Luke's Diner**

Lorelai walks in, glancing around, not seeing Luke, she sits down at a table. "Lorelai! Surprised to see you without that big hunk you're always dragging around the town!" Babette exclaims, coming up to the table.

"Do you mean Chris?" Lorelai asks.

"I mean that gorgeous man who put that rock on your finger," Babette replies, motioning to Lorelai's hand. Lorelai glances down at the ring, biting her lower lip. "That's a great ring you got there Lorelai, a great ring from what must be a great guy, although you never introduce him to us!" Lorelai smiles, tightlipped.

"Sorry, Babette. I'll work on that. He actually works in Boston during the week so I usually only see him on the weekends."

"Well that'll all change when you get married, won't it? Are you gonna move?" Babette asks, just as Rory walks in the diner. Lorelai glances over at her daughter, relief washing over her face. "Oh, I should let you girls have your time. Don't forget Sugar, I wanna meet that man of yours." She points at Lorelai, making sure Lorelai's gotten the point. Rory smiles at Babette and sits down next to Lorelai. Babette walks out. Lorelai breathes a sigh of relief.

"You okay there?" Rory asks, concerned but smiling. Lorelai shrugs.

"I thought Dean was meeting you here," Lorelai says. Rory nods.

"Yeah, he'll be here. He had a hockey meeting after school. He wants to play hockey this year."

"You could have waited for him."

"No, I wanted to bring you this," Rory says. She hands Lorelai a big envelope, her eyes sparkling. Lorelai opens in, her eyes going wide.

"Your Harvard application!"

"Yes!" They hug. Lorelai glances at her hands.

"Oh, I feel like my hands aren't clean enough to hold this!" Lorelai exclaims. She throws the envelope into Rory's hands and wipes her hands with a napkin. "Wait, you have to wipe your hands too!" Luke walks over. Rory attempts to hand Luke the envelope. "Don't give it to him, you think he's wiped his hands lately?"

"I'd get mad but that would mean I want to know what you're talking about," Luke grumbles. Rory hands the envelope to Lorelai and wipes her hands.

"Rory's application to Harvard is here. If we get it dirty they take points off," Lorelai explains.

"I don't really think it works like that," Luke responds. Lorelai scoffs. Rory laughs quietly. "What can I get for you that won't get your hands dirty?" Luke asks Rory.

"Chili fries."

"And that won't get your hands dirty?" Luke shakes his head at Lorelai. "She's your daughter." Lorelai winks at Rory.

"That she is. Speaking of daughters, where's yours?"

"April? She's coming tomorrow."

"Oh…" Lorelai tries to keep her face from betraying her. "I thought she was supposed to come on Mondays. Didn't you ask me to join you guys?" She hit his arm playfully.

"Oh yeah, well, Anna brought her by on Friday for a little while because she couldn't bring her over today," Luke explain. Lorelai nods, tightlipped smile.

"So, you and Anna, that's working out?"

"Uh, no, me and Anna aren't a thing. I mean, not really. We were, you know, years ago, but no, we're over. She's not, she's not my type, I guess," Luke stammers. Rory smiles watching the two of them behave like middle schoolers. Lorelai nods. She reaches for the envelope from Rory.

"Well, you'd better go get us those chili fries, we have some major application work to do. This could take us all day. We need all the help we can to get into Harvard, we'll call Reese Witherspoon if we have to," Lorelai says. She begins to flip through the application. Luke nods and walks away. Rory looks confused at what just went on, but leans over Lorelai's shoulder to read the application.

----------------------------------

**Dance Marathon**

Chris had to stay in Boston so Lorelai still took Rory as her dance partner in the Dance Marathon. It is now the last hour of the marathon and Lorelai has just broken her shoe and convinced Dean to take care of Rory while Lorelai tries to get Luke to fix her shoe. They're sitting in the other room as Luke tries to glue the shoe together.

"These are not shoes made for this type of dancing," Luke comments.

"What type of dancing were they made for?" Lorelai asks, playfully. Luke gives her a look.

"None, these shoes shouldn't even be worn if you like your feet at all."

"But they were on sale! And they're cute! And they called my name!" Lorelai whines. Luke nods, smiling slightly. He puts the glue on and is pressing the heel to the shoe.

"So, did Rory get her application for Harvard in?" he asks. Lorelai nods.

"Yup. She'll be crimson in no time, at least that's what the alumni-er-us said." Luke nods. He doesn't look at her. "What's on your mind Charlie Chaplin?"

"You going to leave Stars Hallow?" Luke asks. Lorelai's mouth drops open.

"Why would I leave?"

"For Boston."

"Rory's the one going to Harvard, she's going to Boston. Not me," Lorelai says, shaking her head.

"But you're getting married," Luke mentions, motioning towards the ring, still not looking at her. "And he..."

"Christopher." Luke sighs.

"Christopher. He lives in Boston. Doesn't he?"

"Yes, but… I have a life here. I have the inn and my house and my friends," Lorelai insists.

"Is he going to move here?" Lorelai raises an eyebrow. "Haven't you talked about where you're going to live after you're married?" Lorelai shrugs.

"No, not really." Luke sighs. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just… this happens every time you get engaged," Luke says.

"What happens?"

"This miscommunication thing. With Max. With Christopher."

"No, it doesn't."

"Fine." Luke hands her the shoes. Lorelai looks cross. "Do you even love him?"

"He's the father of my daughter. I'm marrying him! What is with the twenty questions?" Lorelai's getting frustrated trying to shove the shoes onto her feet.

"It's just. If you don't love him, you shouldn't marry him," Luke answers. Lorelai stares at him for a moment.

"Why do you care?" They look at each other. Luke sighs as Lorelai finally gets the shoes on her feet.

"Because I want you to be happy." Lorelai doesn't seem pleased with this response.

"You know what? You! You are what happens every time I get engaged!" She jumps to her feet. "You ask all these questions like, what about the coupon drawer, and where are you going to live, and, uh, what movies do you watch. You are the problem! Stop butting in! Stop trying to help."

"I just fixed your shoes." Luke motions to her feet.

"Thank you! And that's the last thing I'll ever ask you to do. From now on, let me do it myself!" Lorelai stomps off into the dance area. Luke sighs, letting the glue drop to the ground.

"And Kirk wins again!" Patty announces.

"No! I'm here! I'm here! I have my yellow card!" Lorelai exclaims, waving the yellow card as she runs into the room.

"I win!" Kirk yells.

"No, I – where's Rory?" Lorelai wonders. Kirk picks up the trophy, holding it high above his head. Rory walks in the other side of the gym, tears streaming down her face. "Rory?" Lorelai walks quickly over to Rory, wrapping her arms around her daughter, holding her tight. "Are you okay? Hun, what happened?" Rory doesn't respond. She just sobs in Lorelai's arms.

Luke walks in the gym, watching Lorelai and Rory. Lorelai looks back at him over Rory's shoulder, a sad expression on her face. They share a look. Lorelai looks like she she wants to say something but just pulls Rory in tighter. Luke stares at her a moment more and walks out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes**: Thank you for those lovely happy birthdays, they were much appreciated! And thank you to my faithful reviewers, your comments are great!**  
**

** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Lorelai's House**

Rory walks in the door of the house, slamming it behind her. Lorleai glances up at her. She and Chris are snuggled on the couch. "Hey hun, we were waiting for you to go to Friday Night Dinner," Lorelai calls. Rory walks in her room and slams the door. Lorelai and Chris share a look. "Rory!" Lorelai untangles herself from Chris and walks into Rory's room. "Hun, what's going on?"

"I'm not going. I went last week. I've gone every week," Rory says. Lorelai nods, not really understanding.

"Okay, okay." Lorelai takes Rory's arm, leading her to the bed where they sit. "Hun, what's going on?" Rory looks down at the ground.

"Nothing. I'm just still mad at them about Yale last week. I mean, what were they thinking?" Rory says, flustered. Lorelai nods. She glances up at Chris, who's standing in the doorway.

"Okay," Lorelai agrees, rubbing Rory's leg. "Okay you don't have to." She stands and walks out the door, pushing Chris in front of her. "I'll leave some money for Luke's with you on the table," Lorelai tells Rory before closing Rory's door.

Lorelai and Chris walk into the living room. Lorelai paces, hands on hips. "Okay, so she won't go. I'll go."

"Why are you going to go?"

"Because," Lorelai says, by way of explanation. She sighs. "They're paying for Chilton so I have to go. One of us has to go. And I'm giving her first dibs. You can go or you can stay, it's up to you." She pauses, rubbing her head. Chris doesn't say anything. "Are you going to move?"

"What?" Chris asks, confused at the sudden change in topic.

"When we get married. I mean we never talked about it. Are you going to move here?" Lorelai asks.

"No, well, I never thought about it Lor. I guess I thought you would just move to Boston since Rory will be there for school anyways," Chris says. Lorelai purses her lips, tapping her foot.

"But I can't leave. I have the inn and my house and the gazebo and the dance studio and Weston's and Luke's and the festivals and Al's and the movie theater and the Dragonfly, which isn't even mine, and Kim's antiques and the town meetings. I can't leave," Lorelai insists. Chris raises an eyebrow. "Where would I go in Boston?"

"Where everybody knows your name?" Lorelai's mouth drops open, but she doesn't respond. Chris smiles softly. He walks over to Lorelai, grasping her shoulders lightly. "Lorelai, we haven't discussed this yet, I know. We're not getting married until spring."

"You want me to move to Boston?" Lorelai asks, staring up at Chris. He sighs, running his hands up and down her arms comfortingly.

"Yeah, Lor, I do. We would be a family, you, me, Rory." Lorelai runs her tongue over her top teeth, thinking.

"You should stay here with Rory," Lorelai says, unintentionally cold. She shakes Chris's hands off of her. "I have to go to dinner. It's supposed to snow, so it might take me a little longer to get home."

"Are you mad?" Chris asks. Lorelai shakes her head, but her face is betraying her, as she turns red.

"Just, check on Rory for me," Lorelai says. She grabs her coat and walks out the door.

**----------------------------------------------- **

**Gilmore Mansion**

Lorelai rings the doorbell. She stretches her neck out and shakes her arms, dancing from one foot to another, like an athlete preparing for a race, mostly trying to prepare herself. She stares at the door for a moment and when it doesn't open, she hesitantly begins to turn away from the door. Suddenly it opens, revealing the maid.

"Hello," Lorelai says, smiling. She hands the maid her coat. "Are they in the living room?" The maid nods timidly. "Is Emily already driving you crazy?" The maid nods again. Lorelai nods and the maid walks away. "It's going to be a long night," Lorelai mumbles under her breath.

Lorelai wanders into the living room. "Where's Rory?" Emily asks as Lorelai walks up next to her at the bar.

"Well hello to you Mom." Lorelai shakes her head. Emily hands her a glass of wine. "Thank you." Lorelai walks over and settles herself on the couch. Emily turns and stares at her.

"Lorelai, where is Rory?" Emily asks snidely. Lorelai rolls her eyes.

"Well, I was going to lie and say she's sick, but since you're acting like Jessica Fletcher, I'm just going to tell you the truth. She didn't want to come. She was upset at Dad for what happened at Yale and I can't blame her. So she asked for the night off and I agreed," Lorelai explains. Emily takes her martini over to the chair next to Lorelai.

"We have a deal, Lorelai."

"Yes, we have a deal. And I'm here."

"The deal was for both of you to come," Emily insists.

"Well, if you didn't want me to come, I could just leave." Lorelai stands. Emily stands as well.

"No, come on, we'll eat," Emily snaps. Lorelai follows her into the dining room.

"Is Dad coming?"

"No, he offered to stay an extra day in Hungary since Rory still refuses to return his phone calls," Emily answers pointedly. She sits down at the table and the maid brings over their salads. "Christopher didn't want to come tonight?" Lorelai sighs, stabbing at the lettuce. "Lorelai?"

"He decided to stay with Rory," Lorelai says flatly. She doesn't look up at Emily as she plays with the tomatoes.

"He decided to stay with Rory instead of spending time with you?" Emily asks in disbelief. "Did you two have a fight?" Lorelai doesn't answer, still playing with the tomatoes. "Are you still getting married?" Lorelai groans.

"Yes, Mom, we're still getting married!" Lorelai shakes her head, thoroughly frustrated.

"Well, what happened?" Emily asks.

"We just – we had a disagreement. Chris thinks that when we get married I should sell my house in Stars Hallow and move to Boston."

"And you don't want to do that," Emily says knowingly. Lorelai shoots a glance over at Emily, setting her fork down. "You don't want to do that, even though if Rory goes to Harvard-"

"When Rory goes to Harvard…" Lorelai reminds her. Emily gives Lorelai a look but relents.

"When Rory goes to Harvard, the three of you will finally be a family."

"I know, but I don't want to leave Stars Hallow. Rory grew up there. I grew up there." Emily opens her mouth to say something, but thinks better of it and closes her mouth. The maid comes in and takes the salad dishes. Lorelai and Emily sit in silence. The maid comes back with dinner, setting a plate in front of each of them.

"How long are you going to hold this against us?" Emily asks.

"I don't know. How long are you and Dick Cheney going to try to run our lives?" Lorelai responds.

"We're not trying to run Rory's life and we gave up on you awhile ago. We just want what's best for her or for her to at least see the options before she decides. You want to run her life. You want her to do what you want her to do. Go to Harvard. Live in Stars Hallow. I'm not the one trying to run her life." Lorelai flings her fork down on the table.

"I knew you were going to do this. I knew it. I'm not you Mom. I want Rory to be happy. That's all I expect from her. If she wants to go to Yale instead of Harvard, that's up to her. I'm not pushing her. I don't need you pushing me. I don't need you taking Chris's side!" Lorelai shouts. She stands. "You know what, I came, I ate, I can't stay." She grabs her purse and leaves the house, taking her coat from the maid on the way. Emily shakes her head and goes back to eating.

Lorelai runs to her car and tries to get it to start, but it doesn't. "No!" She tries again. "Dammit!" She bangs on the steering wheel in frustration. She huffs, the falling snow surprisingly not helping her mood. Getting out her cell phone, she stares at it, trying to decide who to call. Finally she presses the numbers.

"Luke's," Luke answers the phone. Lorelai breathes a sigh of relief.

"Hi, it's me," she says softly.

"Me, who?" Luke turns around to write down an order.

"It's Lucy Ricardo. Can you come pick me up?" Realizing who's on the phone, Luke looks up.


	13. Chapter 13

**Luke's Truck**

Lorelai and Luke sit in silence as he drives her home from her parents' house. Lorelai keeps glancing out the window, trying to keep the tears inside. Luke glances at her when he can, making sure she's okay. The snow is coming down hard and Luke grips the steering wheel to stay tight in the lines on the road, which is slowly becoming white and icy.

"So, Lucy, how's little Ricky?" Luke asks, breaking the silence. Lorelai turns her gaze away from the window to find Luke watching her.

"She's back in Stars Hallow. My parents dragged her to an interview at Yale last week and she still hasn't forgiven them for it." Luke nods in understanding. "I thought she would have been over at your place." Luke shakes his head.

"No, Jess is still at Walmart, at least he was when I left." Lorelai sighs. "He is good to her, you know." Lorelai nods. She's not convinced but Jess isn't the first thing on her mind right now. They go back to sitting in silence. "If Rory was still at home, where is Chris?" Lorelai shrugs.

"He stayed home with her," she replies after a moment, in almost a whisper. Luke glances over at Lorelai again.

"Did you have a fight?" Lorelai gives Luke a sharp look, but relents, remembering that Luke should still be mad at her but he came to pick her up.

"Kind of. He thought I was going to move to Boston when we got married."

"And you don't want to?"

"Do you want me to?" Lorelai asks, trying to change the topic. She watches him as he considers his answer. Lorelai bites her lower lip, afraid of what he might say after their fight at the Dance Marathon, afraid that he was tired of fighting with her and just wanted to be rid of her for good. "Luke, I'm sorry I yelled at you. You didn't deserve it. I don't know why I do that to you." Luke glances over at her, a soft expression on his face.

"Why didn't you call Chris to come get you?" Lorelai looks down at her hands. She shrugs. "You said you didn't ever want my help again," he reminds her. She shrugs again, a little uncomfortable from Luke's questions.

"I – I don't know," she manages. "But you came," Lorelai notes, finally looking at him again.

"Yeah. I'm like Wile E. Coyote. Same damn cliff every time," Luke grumbles, but he doesn't seem that upset.

"No, it's not the same every time. At least it shouldn't be. I'm sorry Luke, I shouldn't have - and I shouldn't keep attacking you when you try to help. I don't know what I'd do without you," Lorelai finishes quietly. Luke swallows. When he doesn't respond, Lorelai sighs and looks out the window again. "You were right to ask those questions," she whispers, meaing the questions he asked at the dance marathon. Lorelai tears her gaze away from the window and looks softly at Luke. "I just didn't know how to tell you the truth and I didn't want to lie." She reaches over and touches his arm. "Luke…" He glances over at her.

"You were right to get mad," he admits. Shrugging her hand off his arm, Luke removes one of his arms from the steering wheel and takes her hand in his. "I didn't know how to tell you that I don't want you to marry him." Lorelai blushes, suddenly overcome with emotion. Instead of replying instantly, she interlaces their fingers as Luke tries his best to concentrate on driving. They sit like that for almost a minute, just letting the electricity burn between their fingers.

"I wish you had just said that," she whispers. Luke finally loses his concentration and manages to look over at Lorelai, at the expression on her face. She smiles softly at him and he unable to take his eyes off of her.

"I…"

"Luke! The road!" Lorelai exclaims suddenly. She tries to grab the steering wheel as the truck goes careening off the road.

**TBC...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Luke's Truck**

Luke slowly opens his eyes. He glances around, rubbing his face, trying to remember what happened. And then, he does. He remembers Lorelai and looks over at her to make sure she's okay, and gasps when he sees her hunched over, eyes closed, and blood on the windowshield. Luke scoots over on the bench and checks her pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he feels her pulse and hears her breathe. "Lorelai," he says, rubbing her arm, trying to wake her up. She doesn't move. Luke moves her hair away from her face and sees the giant gash on her forehead from hitting the smashed window. "Lorelai!" he shouts, not even responding to his own pain.

Lorelai, having heard Luke, slowly opens her eyes as well. She tries to focus on his face and smiles, seeing that he's so worried. "Luke," she whispers. She grips his hand, letting him know she's okay. Lorelai grits her teeth, suddenly feeling the pain.

"I'm so sorry," he says, shaking his head, choked up. She reaches up, running her fingers over his cheek.

"It's not your fault. The road. It's icy," Lorelai whispers. He nods. "Are you okay Luke?" He sits back, realizing that his neck is hurting a bit.

"Don't worry about me," he responds. "Do you have your cell with you?"

"It died," she answers simply. Luke sighs, the one time he was actually going to be glad she had a cell phone. "I'm sure someone will be along shortly," she decides. He nods. "Come here," Lorelai says, reaching out and pulling on his flannel. He scoots closer to her. "You don't look so good."

Luke turns and leans back against the seat again. They are sitting close together, hardly an inch of seat between them. Lorelai picks up his arm, putting it around her and leaning into him. "Are you cold?" he asks. She nods. Luke grips her shoulder pulling her in tighter. "Stay close to me, I'll keep you warm."

"Thank you," she whispers. "I can't believe you'd do this for me after how I treated you." Luke looks at her like she's crazy.

"I can't very well have you freeze to death out here," he responds, but they both know there's more feeling beneath his simple words. Lorelai relaxes into Luke, closing her eyes. "No!" he exclaims. He rubs her arm almost violently. "Don't sleep Lorelai, you might have a concussion, you can't sleep!" She looks up at him and smiles.

"I knew you cared deep down," Lorelai teases. Luke rubs her arm, softly this time. She snuggles into him again. Luke looks down at her and smiles, still amazed that the woman he's always loved is enveloped into him. Lorelai can feel and hear the thumping of his heart and in response hers begins to beat faster as well. She licks her lips thinking about the beating of their hearts. She looks up at him only to find him staring back down at her. Their shared gazes lasting for a period of time both of them are oblivious to. Slowly she reaches up and runs her fingers over his cheek, loving the feeling of his scratchy unshaved skin. Luke leans his head down further until she can reach up her face slightly and press her lips against his. The shared power of their kiss surprises both of them, but neither pulls back. Both press on, giving into the passion that both of them have been keeping silent for so long, both forgetting the aches and pains that they're feeling.

"Lorelai," Luke moans into her lips. Lorelai smiles, leaning back, knowing just the one kiss has satiated neither of them. "Should we be doing this?" Luke asks, his voice barely reaching above a growl.

"Probably not," Lorelai answers, but again captures his lips with hers. She parts her lips slightly to allow him in further. Luke wraps his other arm around her, letting his fingers roam her back. Lorelai's hand reaches back behind Luke's head to pull him closer, his tongue dipping deep into her mouth. Her other hand running over his chest feeling his heart beating fast and heavy.

"Lorelai," he whispers again, letting her name roll across his tongue. Lorelai smiles, loving the sound of her name on his lips. "If I don't stop now, I don't…" Lorelai leans back and looks deep into his eyes. Her once blue eyes have gone black with desire.

"Make love to me Luke," she whispers. The words an instant agreement between the two. Lorelai leans back, letting her back lay against the seat and Luke covers her body with his as Lorelai slowly unbuttons his shirt, feeling his bare muscles. "I'm all yours," she whispers wrapping her arms around him, running her fingers over the taunt muscles of his back. Luke wraps a hand behind her head, pulling her lips back to his as his other drifts under her silky shirt. Lorelai moans as his fingers graze her skin for the first time, both knowing that these are moments neither will ever forget. And slowly and passionately the two let their tongues and bodies speak the words they've been longing to say for so long, neither remembering time or place.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, now I've got your attention, so feel free to review away!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes:** So if you haven't gone back and read my updated version of the last chapter, I'm just going to explain it with a few comments. I'm just going to back track and say Luke's injuries weren't that bad. Lorelai only had a mild concussion and a head laceration and Luke was just feeling the aches and pains that anyone would have after a car accident. Sorry about that, I really wasn't thinking about the reality of the situation. Hope that helps.  
Anyways, on to the next chapter..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Hospital**

Rory runs into the emergency room of the hospital. Chris is following closely behind her. She runs over to the desk. "My mom! She's here, car accident, or something, I don't know, I got this call – and see. I should have been with her but I was angry and it was so stupid but I made her go alone and I should have been there. It should be me and so she's there alone and I'm not with her. But I should have been," Rory rambles, not unlike her mother. The nurse lets her go on and on, continuing with her work until she notices a pause in Rory's talking.

"Your mother is…?" the nurse asks simply.

"Lorelai Gilmore," Rory responds. She takes a deep breath, having run out of air during her rambling. The nurse looks down at the computer in front of her.

"Yes, she's here, I can take you back to see her. Are you the husband?" she asks Chris.

"I will be in a few months," he says. The nurse nods and motions for the two to follow her. The nurse presses a few buttons on a touchpad and they follow her into the back part of the emergency room. She walks over to a curtained off section where Lorelai sits up on a bed.

"Lor," Chris says, immediately going to her side. He takes her hand in his, but she hardly notices. Rory stands at the foot of the bed, watching her mother with tears in her eyes. "How are you feeling?" Chris asks, his voice full of emotion. Lorelai turns her gaze from Rory to Chris, staring into his eyes, only actually seeing him there for the first time.

"I'm okay," she says, hesitating on what to say. She flashes him a bright smile, hoping to relieve some of the tension in the room. "The doctor said that it was a slight concussion, but he did confirm that there's still a brain sloshing around up there." Chris chuckles, letting out the breath he had been holding since he first heard about the accident. Lorelai looks over at Rory, who is still white as a sheet. "Hun, don't worry. Momma's fine. She's cool. The Corleones would have to come after me before you would truly have to worry." Lorelai removes her hand from Chris's grip, holding it out to Rory.

Rory slowly walks around the bed and grips Lorelai's hand tightly. "I'm so sorry, Mom. If I had gone with you, this wouldn't have happened." Lorelai gives Rory her tightlipped smile.

"Hey, Kid, it could've happened even if you were there. It wasn't the best night to be on the roads," Lorelai tells Rory. She squeezes Rory's hand, hoping to make her daughter feel better.

"Mom, what happened?" Rory asks in a small voice. Lorelai takes a deep breath, thinking about what to say first, planning to choose her words carefully.

"I had a fight – with Mom – shocker of shockers, and I walked out of dinner. My car wouldn't start so I called – Luke – I called Luke to come get me. And the roads were icy and the car – truck – it slid off the road," Lorelai explains, knowing she's only telling part of the truth.

"Why did you call Luke? You could have called us to come get you," Chris says. Lorelai nods, slowly.

"I did," she lies. "No one picked up the phone." She slowly lifts her eyes to his, searching for a sign on her fiancé's face that he knows she's lying.

"Must have been when we ran out to get Chinese," Chris says, glancing at Rory, who nods. Lorelai lets out a small sigh of relief that she was actually able to lie well this time. "Well, it must not have been a big fight, your mother is here. She beat us."

"I know. She was here. I'm not sure where she went…." Lorelai glances around, as if expecting Emily to pop out. Instead, the doctor walks in the room.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Daniels," he says.

"I'm Chris Hayden, Lorelai's fiancé, and this is our daughter Rory." Chris shakes hands with the doctor.

"Well, Mr. Hayden, Lorelai's going to be just fine. She has a mild concussion, but I can let you take her home as long as you promise to stay with her for the duration. I've given her some pain medication and that should wear off in the next few hours and I stitched up the laceration on her forehead. The stitches should be removed in two weeks." Chris nods.

"You hear that Lor? You've got to get some rest and stay where Rory and I can take care of you," Chris says. Lorelai nods, saluting him.

"Okay? Well I will get you the discharge papers, unless you have any other questions?" the doctor asks.

"Well I was just wondering how on earth they actually get those huge catheters inside a – "

"Lorelai!" Chris shouts, to interrupts her. But Lorelai just grins, proud of herself as usual. The doctor shakes his head and walks out.

"What?" Lorelai asks innocently, winking at Rory, who is covering her face in shame. A nurse walks in and takes the IV out of Lorelai's arm.

"Okay, well I'll go bring the car around," Chris says.

"Actually, why don't you go find my mother? We should really say goodbye since she came all the way here," Lorelai says quickly.

"Okay."

"And Rory and I will go check on Luke, because, after all, he was hurt too and I want to see if he's all right," Lorelai suggests, trying to keep from blushing.

"Sounds good," Chris says and walks out, closing the curtain behind him. Rory hands Lorelai her clothes so she can change.

"We're going to go visit with Luke?" Rory asks, not quite seeming interested in prolonging their time at the hospital.

"Yeah." Lorelai's trying not to fall over a she pulls her pants on while concentrating on keeping a poker face. "Isn't Jess with him?" Rory nods.

"But you and Dad, you're okay right? I mean, you're still getting married? I heard the fight." Lorelai looks up from putting her belt through the loops of her jeans, realizing for the first time since the whole night started that her actions affect Rory too.

"Of course, Hun." She flashes her hand at Rory, the ring still shining. "I mean that's what you want…" Lorelai trails off, leaving room for Rory to tell her what she thinks Lorelai should do.

"Of course that's what I want. I mean if Hayley Mills can make it happen, who says I can't?" Lorelai smiles. She goes back to fixing her belt, having missed a loop in the back. "It's what you want too, right?" Lorelai looks back at her. She forces a smile and blushes.

"Yes, it's what I want. Call me Maggie McKendrick," Lorelai quips, going back to playing with the belt again. "What the heck is wrong with this?"

"Mo-om," Rory whines. Lorelai's yanking the belt out of her pants, falling back on the bed. Rory sighs and takes the belt out of Lorelai's hand. "Yes, here's the role reversal I've always waited for. I have to dress you now. Turn please." Rory fits the belt back through the loops in Lorelai's pants. Lorelai looks down appreciating Rory's handiwork.

"Nice work, kid."

"I think you can buckle it yourself." Rory crosses her arms. Lorelai smiles but does as told.

"But seriously, Rory. We're getting married. We're going to be a family. Maybe they'll even make a sequel about you marrying into the Brady Bunch. And then in the threequel you'll be replaced by a cousin, there's always a cousin." Rory shakes her head smiling. Lorelai puts an arm around Rory, leading her out of the area. "This is all going to work out great, you just concentrate on finding that incredibly handsome gay widower with three adorable sons."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes: **Sorry about the long wait until this chapter. I had a huge test today and it needed to be studied for. I'll try to post a little more often this week to make up for it, but we'll see what I get written. Also, for my own plug, check out my new story **Her Biggest Mistake** it should be posted today or tomorrow, depending on how fast I get it proofread. Anyways, back to Luke and Lorelai...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Luke's Hospital Bed**

Lorelai pulls back the curtain surrounding Luke's bed in the ER, allowing Rory to walk into the curtained off area first. "Hey, Luke, you look good," Rory says. Luke smiles up at Rory. Lorelai sort of dances around by the curtain, trying to appear not nervous but failing entirely.

"Yeah. Just a stiff neck, the docs are making me wait to take a few x-rays to make sure it's nothing worse, but it's really just your average whiplash," Luke replies. Rory walks up to Luke's bedside and Jess puts his arm around her. Luke looks over at Lorelai to see her response to this, but she's not really looking at the two teenagers or Luke or anywhere in particular. Most importantly, he notices that she's intentionally avoiding his gaze.

"I just wanted to say, I'm glad you were there for my mom. Sorry this had to happen though," Rory says.

"Well the roads were icy," Luke comments, although everyone already knew that, so Rory just nods in response. Jess and Rory share a look.

"Hey, why don't we go see if my dad's almost ready to go," Rory suggests to Jess, who nods.

"If he's with my mother, I can probably find him pretty easy," Lorelai says, trying to come up with a reason to not be alone with Luke. Rory glances between Luke and Lorelai.

"No, no, stay here we'll be back," Rory insists. She takes Jess's hand and they leave before Lorelai can come up with another reason to keep them there.

Lorelai finally turns her attentions to Luke, who has been watching her the whole time. Lorelai blushes and swallows hard. "I – um – I'm glad you're – you know – fine," Lorelai mumbles. She slowly makes her way over to the side of Luke's bed. He's searching her face for what she's really trying to say.

"Something changed," Luke notices. She shrugs as Luke watches her face go white. He glances down at the ring on her finger. "Chris?" He motions toward the ring, that Lorelai begins to play with.

"Yeah – um – I should probably – God, this is hard – you know – when Diane left Sam – it looked so much easier than it does right now." Lorelai looks down at her hands, swallowing again and playing with the ring. She takes a deep breath and brings her eyes to Luke's. "I'm going to marry Chris." Luke scoffs, shaking his head.

"I can't believe this. I finally let down my guard and – what – because he didn't crash the car?" Luke glares at her, making Lorelai get choked up.

"No – I – he – Rory, she wants us to be together. She's just been so happy since we announced we were getting married and she was so upset when she thought it wasn't going to happen." Lorelai bites her lower lip, knowing it probably isn't enough for Luke, but hoping he'll see how much Rory's happiness means to her. He grasps her by her upper arm, pulling her towards him, so her face is almost touching his. Lorelai takes a deep breath trying to control herself, but can't, something about him is drawing her in. She leans in and presses her lips to his. Luke kisses back. But she pulls away quickly, so quickly that Luke lets her go. "No, Luke, I'm marrying Chris." She turns away, covering her face with her hands, trying to cool her cheeks and gain control of herself.

"You're being ridiculous," Luke says. Lorelai shakes her head, wringing her hands and looking up at the ceiling, trying to stay calm.

"This isn't meant to be, it's not right," Lorelai insists, wanting that to be true with all her might, but deep down she knows who she's meant to be with. She huffs, her hands going to her hips and turns to face him. "We're Luke and Lorelai, not Luke and Laura!" Pressing her hands onto the side of the mattress, she exclaims, "We need to stop this!" Luke searches her pleading eyes, waiting for some sign of what's going through her head. He reaches out and covers her hand with his, their fingers quickly interlacing unconsciously.

"Lorelai, I want it to be me, but more than that, I just want you to be happy."

"I'm happy with Chris. We're going to be a family," Lorelai whispers. Neither notices Jess standing in the crack in the curtain. "We slept together, it was wonderful, amazing, but it didn't mean what you think it did. We were just scared of what might happen. We were alone, in the dark, in the cold, in crazy states of mind and we just let things go to far. We weren't thinking about the rest of the world of Jess and Christopher and Rory. It was like we were in a different place in a different time, we weren't thinking clearly. But now I am, for both of us. You have to let me go."

"You're holding on too," Luke responds, motioning at their hands with his eyes. She looks down for a quick second and nods, swallowing.

"I'll let go if you let go," she replies, looking back up at him.

"I can't let go if I don't know you're going to be happy and you'll only be happy if you marry for love," Luke tells her. "Do you love him, Lorelai?" Lorelai's lips part but no words come out. "If you tell me you love him, I'll let go. I'll back off. You can have your perfect family with Rory and Christopher, everything you ever dreamed of. All you have to do is say the words." Lorelai takes a deep breath, a tense look on her face.

"I love him," she says in barely a whisper, not looking at him, immediately swallowing the bitterness of her words. Luke stares at her just letting the soft white lie fill the room.

"Hey boys and girls," Jess says walking the room. Lorelai quickly removes her hand from Luke's grasp, hoping that Jess didn't see, not knowing that he had seen and heard more than that. "It's Howdy Doody Time."

"Where's Rory?" Lorelai asks, running a hand through her hair. She adjusts her coat and purse.

"She's in the lobby waiting for you. Your fiancé is pulling the car up," Jess replies, saying the word fiancé with distaste. Lorelai nods. She glances back at Luke, who's staring down at his hands which are now folded in his lap, and presses her lips together, upset with herself for hurting him.

"Well, I should go meet them. I'll see you later. And get well," Lorelai manages. Luke doesn't respond, he doesn't even look at her. Lorelai smiles faintly at Jess and walks out of the area. Jess watches her go, an eyebrow raised. He looks back at Luke smirking.

"Sorry to interrupt the Joanie loves Chochie reuinion," Jess says sarcastically, not letting Luke realize what he knows.

"Shut up," Luke snaps. He runs his hands through his hair, trying to forget the recent tense conversation and wondering where to go from there.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes:** Glad everyone is still into the story. Gotta keep up the drama! And for those who are reading **Her Biggest Mistake** the next chapter is almost done and will be posted tomorrow I think. Anyways, this is a short one, but necessary. Love the reviews!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Kitchen of the Independence Inn**

Lorelai walks back in the kitchen. Sookie's busy cutting strawberries. "Coffee's fresh!" Sookie announces, pointing. Lorelai heads straight for the pot. She pours herself a cup but doesn't immediately drink it. Sookie looks up at her. "You look better, your head still bothering you?" Lorelai shrugs.

"No, not really," she says vaguely. Lorelai takes a sip of coffee and walks closer to Sookie. She glances around. Sookie notices and follows Lorelai's gaze.

"What?"

"Hmmm? Nothing."

"You're acting like someone's going to jump out behind you." Lorelai shrugs taking another sip. "What's going on with you?" Sookie asks. Lorelai sets her coffee cup on the table.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Always," Sookie says, smiling. She loves her gossip. Lorelai sighs. Sookie leans in. "Is it about Rory and Jess?"

"What? No!"

"Sorry," Sookie responds, her eyes going wide. "You just seemed so…" Sookie shrugs. She looks back up at Lorelai, almost chopping a finger. "Oh!"

"Sookie!" Lorelai exclaims, shaking her head. "Come on." Lorelai walks outside. Sookie puts the knife down, throwing her hands in the air, needing to finish her work instead of taking time off for gossip. She follows Lorelai out the door.

"Lorelai, what is going on? I need to watch Bob make the practice Thanksgiving Dinner, otherwise I don't think I can leave him alone here tomorrow. Speaking of which, is Christopher coming with you and Rory to my Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow?"

"Ummm… no, he's going to dinner with his parents's friends in New York or something. So it'll just be me and Rory. We've got you and the Kim's and my parents, so three dinners," Lorelai responds, counting the dinners on her fingers.

"No Luke's?" Sookie asks. Lorelai gives her a wide-eyed stare.

"Luke's?"

"Yeah, I know you've had dinner there in the past, I just wasn't sure if you were skipping it because of your fight." Lorelai shakes her head, a little confused.

"Fight?"

"Yeah, Rory came by this morning. She said she thought you and Luke were fighting, you've been going to Weston's for coffee and today you got it from the inn, so I figured she was right. Is she right Lorelai?" Lorelai shrugs. She's fiddling with her ring again. "What happened?" Lorelai sighs.

"Well, you know the car crash?"

"Yeah, on Friday, the reason why you have that gash on your head… Lorelai…" Lorelai reaches out and grabs Sookie by the shoulders.

"Sookie!" Lorelai presses her lips together, taking a moment. "I slept with Luke." Sookie's mouth drops open.

"When? Today?" Lorelai gives her a look like she's crazy.

"Yeah, I got up this morning, went to the diner, and we had sex on the counter. No, Sookie in the car after we crashed," Lorelai says, exasperated.

"Oh." Lorelai sighs. She lets go of Sookie and begins to pace, wringing her hands. "What does this mean?" Lorelai shrugs.

"Nothing, it means nothing. I mean, I'm marrying Christopher," Lorelai insists. Sookie narrows her eyebrows.

"But you slept with Luke, it has to mean something."

"Yeah it means that the truck was incredibly cramped. We weren't sure what was going to happen to us. With the snow – it was like we were all alone – he could have been Richard Kimble – I wouldn't have cared." Sookie gives her a look. "A fugitive…" Lorelai explains.

"No, I knew that, I just – it was Luke. He's always had feelings for you and deep down, I always thought you had feelings for him," Sookie insists.

"But I don't. I want to be with Christopher. Rory wants me to be with Christopher. We're going to be family." Sookie nods.

"And Luke just let it go." Lorelai stops pacing and sighs.

"No… I had to tell him that I love Chris before he would…"

"And do you love Christopher?" Sookie asks. Lorelai looks shocked, hands going to her hips.

"Of course I love Chris. I've always loved Chris. I've loved Chris since we were six and he moved in down the street. Since we were 10 and shared our first beer. Since we were 14 and kissed for the first time. Since we were 16 and we had a kid. I mean I've always, always loved him," Lorelai responds, pretty convincingly. But Sookie isn't sure who Lorelai's trying to convince. "I'm not Kate Bekinsdale, this isn't Serendipity."

"Maybe," Sookie considers. "But are you in love with him?" Lorelai raises an eyebrow. "I mean you and I both love Jackson, but I'm the only one in love with Jackson." Lorelai nods. Seeing that Lorelai's not going to give her an answer, Sookie sighs. "Just make sure you're not doing this for the wrong reasons. You know I want whatever makes you happy."

"That's what Luke said," Lorelai mumbles.

"Well, he wants you to be happy. So you are – happy I mean – right?" Lorelai flashes her a smile.

"Yes, I'm happy." Lorelai suddenly shivers. "Wow, I forgot how cold it was out here. I'd better go make sure Michel hasn't annoyed all the guests." Lorelai begins to walk inside.

"Lorelai," Sookie says, stopping her. "You know Rory will love you no matter what you do. No matter what happens with her dad. No matter if you and Christopher get married. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Sookie, I know that," Lorelai assures her before walking inside. Sookie watches her.

"Why do I get a feeling that you're lying to me, Lorelai Gilmore?" Sookie mumbles to herself.


	18. Chapter 18

**Stars Hallow**

Lorelai and Rory are walking down the main street in Stars Hallow following their disastrous Thanksgiving dinner at the Gilmores's. Lorelai has her hands shoved in the pockets of her coat and Rory is walking along next to her, trying to keep up with Lorelai's fast pace.

"You're not mad are you?" Rory asks.

"No, I'm not mad," Lorelai answers, without looking over at her daughter. Rory frowns, knowing that her mother isn't telling the truth.

"You seem mad and you seemed mad when we walked out on Grampa and Gramma." Lorelai glances over at Rory, seeing the worry in her daughter's eyes.

"Hun, I'm just trying to wrap my mind around this. Yale. Wow. Yale." Lorelai shakes her head. Rory wraps her arm through Lorelai's.

"But I'm not going there. I just needed back up schools. I'm going to Harvard," Rory insists. Lorelai nods.

"We'll talk about it when it gets to that point," she responds. Rory nods. She glances over at Luke's Diner but Lorelai's walking past, her face still straight ahead.

"Why don't we go to Luke's? We didn't really eat at Grampa and Gramma's. We really didn't eat that gross tofurky at Lane's. And we didn't stay long enough to get the deep fried turkey at Sookie's. How about a burger?" Rory looks up at her mother, hoping for a positive response.

"We can get something at home," Lorelai responds blandly. Rory stops in her tracks.

"Are you serious? What are we going to eat other than steak sauce and month old Chinese food?" Lorelai stops and turns toward Rory.

"Rory, don't do this now. We can stop at Al's and pick something up," Lorelai says, quietly keeping her anger inside.

"No we can't. It's Thanksgiving, Al's is closed," Rory informs her mother. They stare angrily at each other, a matching pair, both with hands on her hips. "I know that you and Luke are fighting, don't ask me why this time, but I'm hungry, we have nothing at home and my boyfriend is in there so I'm going to go get a burger at Luke's. You can stand out here and be stubborn in the cold all by yourself." On that note, Rory turns on her heel and walks inside Luke's. Lorelai purses her lips thinking over her options. Sighing, she follows Rory inside the diner.

Since it is Thanksgiving, the diner is pretty empty. Anna and April are sitting at one table eating. Luke is walking around bringing out food and Jess is making coffee. Jess looks back the Gilmores when they walk into the diner. "Here for your fourth dinner?" he asks. Lorelai smiles faintly. Rory grabs Lorelai's arm and drags her to the table by the door. Lorelai sits but Rory doesn't.

"We haven't really eaten dinner yet, although we made a few good attempts, but we really wanted to come here," Rory says. Jess walks over to them. He and Rory share a kiss. "You still have food left?"

"Probably not enough for you two," Jess jokes. Rory blushes. Luke walks out of the back with a bowl of mashed potatoes but stops noticing Lorelai and Rory. He hesitates a moment but walks over to them.

"Hey, are you two actually eating?" Luke asks, surprised.

"We saved the best for last," Rory says. Luke nods. He glances at Lorelai, who fiddles again with her ring.

"Hey I'm making something upstairs, come help," Jess says, motioning with his head towards the curtain. He tugs on Rory's sleeve. Rory glances over at Lorelai, wondering for a moment if she should leave her mother. Lorelai nods to Rory.

"Okay," Rory agrees. She and Jess take hands and walk out.

Lorelai swallows and looks up at Luke. "You've got a busy place here," she manages. Luke nods. "They come here a lot?" Lorelai asks, motioning with her chin at April and Anna. April chooses that moment to notice them and she waves to Lorelai, who waves back.

"Anna didn't want to cook this year, April said, so I invited them to come here for dinner," Luke explains. Lorelai nods. "I'm surprised to see you here. Jess said you two had five other dinners to go to."

"Three," Lorelai says, raising three fingers. Luke shrugs. Lorelai sighs. "We didn't really eat three though. My parents's was a disaster. I found out that Rory applied to Yale."

"Yale? I thought she was going to Harvard. What happened? It was always Harvard." Lorelai shrugs, folding her hands in her lap.

"I don't know. I'm just her mother." She smiles slightly, rubbing her head. "I accused my parents of trying to get their way, of convincing Rory to apply there. I mean, she said it was only a back up school, but I just couldn't get it through my head, you know? I mean I know she wasn't lying. I know she wants to go to Harvard, but anytime I feel my parents might possibly have something to do with her sudden change in mind, I don't know, it just does something to me. It's like something comes over me, I'm like Grace McCallister or something." She sighs. Luke sets the bowl down on the table and sits down in the chair next to Lorelai.

"You're not, Lorelai. You want what's best for Rory and it scares you that the best might mean letting your parents in a bit. I'm not saying you should, know that though." Lorelai nods. Luke takes her hands. "Lorelai, she knows you love her and that you're not angry with her for applying to Yale." Lorelai nods again, pressing her lips together and looking up at Luke, sadly.

"Thanks," she whispers. Luke nods, letting her hands go. He stands, picking the bowl back up.

"Who's Grace McCallister?" he asks.

"The mom on Jack and Bobby. Her kids hated her because she tried to run their lives and she was a little bit OCD," Lorelai explains. She chuckles. "She was just overprotective."

"Well, I don't think that's a bad thing," Luke responds.

"Yeah…" They smile at each other. "Well, I'll get you two some food."

"To go, I think we'll take it home so you four can finish your dinner together," Lorelai says, motioning again at Anna and April. Luke nods. Jess and Rory walk over.

"Come on, let's go box up some food," Luke says. He hits Jess on the arm as walk away. Jess rolls his eyes but follows Luke. Lorelai watches them go and then motions for Rory to sit in the chair Luke vacated, which she does.

"Does Luke need to clean the sheets?" Lorelai jokes.

"Gross!" Rory exclaims. Lorelai smirks and winks. Rory shakes her head. "Did you two have a nice civil chat?" Lorelai feigns innocent.

"Of course. Luke and I are best friends, we never fight." Rory rolls her eyes. "So we're more like Lucy and Ethel." Rory narrows her eyes.

"Which of you is which?"

"I'm Lucy of course!"

"Cuz you always wanted red hair."

"Exactly," Lorelai agrees. She sneaks a glance over at April and Anna. "Do you think she looks like me?"

"Who?" Rory follows Lorelai's gaze. "Oh, uh, not really I – I don't think – I mean you both have brown hair…" Lorelai purses her lips. Anna glances over at them, causing Lorelai to look down at her lap. Rory and Anna share a smile. Rory looks back over at her mother. "Why? Do you think she looks like you?" Lorelai shrugs.

"No – I guess – I mean the brown hair and the eyes – you know – cuz they're blue." She shrugs again. "No I guess. She's much shorter. And I guess her face is more circular." Rory raises an eyebrow.

"Putting a lot of thought into this?" she asks. Lorelai scoffs.

"No!" Lorelai responds, sharper than she intended. Luke and Jess walk over with two boxes of food. "Oh, okay." Lorelai stands and Rory follows her lead. "Thanks." She takes the two packages. "Smells good." Rory looks at her mom strangely.

"I put extra rolls in there cuz I know that's your favorite part," Luke says. Lorelai smiles and nods. "Well…" Luke shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah…" Lorelai says lamely. "See you later." Lorelai nods at Jess and looks down as she walks out. Luke watches her go and then walks over to April and Anna.

"Any idea what's going on there?" Rory asks Jess. He shrugs.

"I don't really get involved in what's happening on the Young and the Restless." Rory nods.

"Okay, well I'd better go." Jess wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Jess…" But she gives in and kisses him. Blushing she slowly pulls away. "Tomorrow." She touches his lips and winks as she walks out.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes: **In response to **squiddrude, **I think I thought about a who's the daddy storyline for a matter of a second. This isn't going to be that kind of story. When and if Luke and Lorelai have a baby together I want her to know it's his.

Just to let you know, next chapter is 20 so for the big 2-0 I'm planning a very important chapter. It may not necessarily be what you're expecting but it will be good and one of my longest. So keep reading and keep reviewing!

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

**Luke's Diner**

Lorelai walks in but doesn't see Luke. She walks up to the counter, looking around and not recognizing any of the other customers. "Luke," she calls. Luke walks out of the back. Lorelai smiles brightly. "Well hello there."

"Coffee?" Luke asks. He picks up a towel and wipes off his hands. Lorelai looks at him strangely.

"That's not a normal response to hello," Lorelai notes. Luke sighs, giving her a look. "I'm just saying. It was a greeting. A normal response would be 'hello Lorelai, my you're looking lovely today'." Luke shakes his head.

"Coffee?" he grunts again. Lorelai sighs, climbing onto a stool.

"Yeah," she answers and sighs.

"Rough day?" Luke asks. Lorelai looks up at him surprised.

"He speaks!" Luke rolls his eyes. He sets a coffee cup in front of her and walks over to get the coffee pot.

"You just look tired, more so than usual," Luke comments. He walks back over with the coffee pot and pours. "Something going on at the inn?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, just the usual stuff. Michel complaining about Sookie trying to fatten him up." Lorelai takes a sip of coffee. "Mmmm. I've waited all day for this." Luke smiles faintly. He walks over and puts the coffee pot back. "So where were you when I walked in?"

"Oh, I was just upstairs with April. She came over after school today. They're doing a whole unit in her math class about money and I'm helping her out. It's one of the few things that I can teach her."

"She comes in a lot lately," Lorelai notices. Luke shrugs.

"Well, she's my daughter. I missed 9 years of her life, I might as well make up for it."

"Yeah…" Lorelai drinks some more of the coffee. She swallows, knowing she wants to find out more, but not knowing how to ask. "So… you just going to leave her up there alone?"

"Are you going to try to teach me parenting techniques again?" Both remember the argument they had when Lorelai tried to tell Luke how to deal with Jess. Lorelai taps the edge of her coffee cup, thinking. "Her mom's up there with her," Luke says, relenting. Lorelai tries to cover her surprise, by drinking more coffee.

"Oh – uh – good," she says lamely. Luke waits for her to say more, but Lorelai seems unwilling. "Anna seems nice," Lorelai says, finally.

"You two have talked?" Lorelai smiles.

"No, I was just – from what I've observed."

"Ah." Luke leans back against the back counter. "You should meet her, I think you'd like her."

"Really? I remember someone freaking out when I met Rachel," Lorelai says, reminding Luke of his ex-girlfriend. Luke looks down, hiding a smile. "You didn't really mean it when you said I should meet her." Luke shrugs. "Are you two – you know – together?" Luke looks back up at Lorelai. He shrugs, kind of stamping his foot against the ground. "Would you tell me if you were?"

"Why wouldn't I? Didn't Sam let Diane meet Rebecca?" Lorelai laughs quietly. Luke nods to her, smiling.

"You know, if you actually watched the show, you'd know that Sam ended up with Diane and not Rebecca," Lorelai comments. Luke chuckles.

"Yeah, you should just be happy I could come up with the anecdote." Lorelai nods, drinking her coffee again. Both seem happy to be settled back into their friendly relationship.

Anna and April walk in from the back. "Hey Luke, we're going head out, I'm actually cooking dinner tonight," Anna says.

"Aw, you're missing a really great burger," Lorelai says. Luke gives her a look.

"We've had them, they're good," April says. "Thanks for the math help." Luke puts an arm around April, a not bad attempt at a hug. She giggles. "You keep working on him," April says to Lorelai.

"Oh uh – Lorelai – this is Anna, Anna – Lorelai is my best customer when the coffee's fresh," Luke says. Anna chuckles. She and Lorelai shake hands.

"Yeah, I remember you from Thanksgiving," Anna says.

"Oh – yeah – that was me. It's not Thanksgiving without Luke's rolls," Lorelai responds. Anna nods.

"Okay, well, we should really be getting going," Anna says.

"I'll walk you out," Luke says. He and Anna walk off talking.

"Seriously, keep working on him," April says to Lorelai. Lorelai smiles, nodding. "I'll see you around." She scampers off to keep up with her mother and father. Lorelai watches them, taking another sip of her coffee. Sighing, she stands, throwing her purse on the shoulder and walks out the other direction. Passing Jess, who's working on his car, she nods.

"I just want to say, I think you are scum," Jess says. Lorelai stops and turns to look at him, a horrified look on her face.

"What did you just say to me?" Lorelai asks angrily.

"You heard me."

"You know, I know you have problems and everything and I should give you a chance, but I deserve a little more respect than that. I'm your girlfriend's mother and your uncle's friend."

"Not a good one," Jess replies. Lorelai stares at him in disgust, her hands going to her hips. "You treat him like crap, is all I'm saying. You know he's had feelings for you forever and you sleep with him and just think he's going to forget it happened?" A panicked look comes over Lorelai's face.

"How do you know about that? Did Luke tell you?"

"Naw, Luke doesn't tell me anything. I heard you two, in the hospital, after the crash, whispering your not-so-sweet nothings in his ear." Lorelai's face has gone white as a sheet.

"Did you tell Rory?"

"No, I didn't. You think she wants to know that her mother is cheating on her father?" Jess shakes his head. "You are unbelievable."

"Jess, I don't think you understand the circumstances."

"I don't think that really matters. You can't keep doing this, every time you have some kind of argument with a boyfriend you go running to him. He's not Lassie, he shouldn't have to come running every time Timmy falls in a well." Lorelai stares at him with a new found respect. "I'm not going to say anything to Rory, just, next time, leave Luke alone. He shouldn't have to be your second choice. He deserves more than that."

"I didn't know you cared," Lorelai says. Jess shrugs. She shakes her head, trying to think things through. "Okay," she agrees finally.

"You'll let him move on with his life?" Lorelai nods. "That's all I'm saying." He goes back to his car. Lorelai glances up, watching Luke walk away from Anna and April and into his diner. She nods to herself and walks away.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes:** So here it is, what I have promised, because I never go back on my promises. A mondo amazing 20th chapter celebrating chapter. Yes, I realize I've said chapter twice. And for those who responded to the last chapter, I'm a huge Lorelai fan, one of the hugest (yeah vocab still not working) but sometimes I think she should be called out on her stupid decisions. Although, she's not the only one on the show who needs that either.

And about Jess, just reminding you that Rory's story will be almost exactly the same as it plays out on GG. You know, Dean, Jess, Break, Dean, Logan. Basically because I could care less, I've never liked any of these guys. (except maybe Dean right at the beginning cuz it was cute and Jess in the last episode he was on cuz he called Rory out)

So, here's the 20th chapter for your viewing pleasure and please remember to read and review and keep flying the friendly skies. (I swear I'm sober).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Lorelai's House**

Lorelai is lying on the couch watching TV. Rory is in her room working on school work. Chris walks inside the house. "Lor?" he calls, closing the door behind him. Lorelai, totally engrossed in her TV show, just lifts up her arm and waves it around. Of course, Chris can't hear or see her at this point so he wanders into the living room. "Lor?" he calls again.

"Yeah, I'm here," she calls. He walks over behind the couch and looks over at her. She glances up at smiles at him. "Hello stranger."

"Hey," he answers, smiling back.

"We missed you at dinner last night. It was unusually calm with Dad in England with Gran," Lorelai tells him.

"Yeah, sorry, I couldn't get away. I'm just glad I managed to wrap things up enough to come here this weekend."

"Oh, well you didn't have to, I guess," Lorelai says.

"But I wanted to," he says. Lorelai smiles, forcing it a bit. "I brought you something." Lorelai sits up, always excited for a present.

"Oooh, now you've got my attention!" She picks up the remote and clicks the TV off. Chris lifts a bag over the back of the couch and sets it in her lap. Lorelai greedily pulls the items out of the bag. "Bridal magazines?" She opens one, flipping through it.

"Yeah, Rory said the only ones you have are from a year or so ago and I think things have changed since then." Chris walks around the couch and sits down next to her.

"People still wear wedding dresses right?"

"Yes."

"I'm just saying, things can't have changed that much." Chris chuckles.

"I know, but Lor, I want you to have the wedding day of your dreams and I think that includes having the newest and the best," Chris informs her. Lorelai smiles. She leans against his shoulder, curling her legs up next to her and laying the magazines in her lap. She begins to flip through the pages.

"Wow, things have changed. Did you know there are blue wedding dresses in here?" She laughs turning to a page with a really funny wedding dress on it.

"You're not wearing blue," Chris insists, putting an arm around her.

"Oh I know, I was just commenting." She continues to flip through the magazines, laughing and pointing at different items. Chris watches her, enjoying just being together for a time.

"Hey, we should pick a date," Chris says suddenly. Lorelai pauses and glances up at him.

"A date?"

"For the wedding." Lorelai smirks.

"Yes, I understood that."

"Well, we've been engaged for awhile. I'm surprised your mother hasn't started in on getting a date set." Lorelai shrugs. "How about Valentine's Day?" Lorelai's mouth drops open.

"Well – uh – it's January – so I – uh – that's really soon," Lorelai stammers, furrowing her eyebrows. The answer seems to satisfy Chris. "If you want a holiday, how about April Fools Day?" She grins.

"That's a Wednesday," Chris replies, taking her seriously. Lorelai goes back to the magazine, trying to end that line of conversation. "Sometime in April would be good though." Lorelai presses her lips together, knowing she's got to pick a date sometime. "Lor?" He's staring at her. Lorelai can feel his eyes burning into her. She looks up at him and smiles.

"Actually, yeah, that would be good," Lorelai replies. She swallows, feeling that her throat is suddenly dry. Chris nods.

"Okay, so I'll go with April 20th as a tentative date and hopefully the place that Emily wants will be open for that date."

"That Emily wants? My mother's involved in this?" Lorelai asks, surprised and disgusted.

"Well, I don't know how to plan a wedding and you don't have that much time right now. She really wants to be a part of this," Chris tells her. Lorelai doesn't look happy with this answer.

"Is that why the sudden wedding talk? She called you and told you that we had to get going on this, that she wanted us married soon, that it suited her to have us married soon, and you jumped on the bandwagon?" Lorelai spits out. Chris removes his arm from around her, sitting back a bit.

"No, Lor, that's not it. We've been engaged for months and I wanted to move beyond the engagement phase. Rory does too. And your parents. And I thought you did too," Chris explains.

"I do!" Lorelai insists, her voice getting a little higher. She closes her eyes for a moment, to think things through. "I just can't deal with having my mother involved in my wedding," she explains slowly and calmly. Chris nods slowly.

"Oh-kay," he says. Lorelai presses her lips together, watching him. "Should I call Emily and tell her we don't want her involved?" Lorelai sighs in frustration.

"No," she replies. "She'll just throw a bigger fit." Lorelai glances down at the magazine. "I just wish you hadn't gotten her involved." Chris reaches out and rubs her arm, getting no response from Lorelai.

"Sorry, Lor, I wasn't thinking. But it'll be okay. She can do the hall and the flowers and we'll do all the fun stuff, and I'll be the go between." Lorelai looks up at him. "Okay?" She nods. "This will be the best day of your life Lor, I promise." She takes a deep breath, but Chris doesn't manage to elicit a smile from her. But, as he leans in to kiss her, she allows him. He leans back staring into her eyes. "Okay?" She nods, but her espression has gone stoney. "I'm going to go say hi to Rory." Chris squeezes Lorelai's shoulder and walks away. Lorelai watches him, an unsure look in her eyes. She takes a deep breaths, crossing her arms over her stomach, glancing around the room.

After a few minutes, Lorelai gets up off the couch. Glancing back, making sure that Rory and Chris aren't around, she grabs her sweater and walks out the door. She stands outside for a moment, her arms still wrapped around her, just thinking, a tense, scared look on her face. She swallows glancing over to the side of the house where the chuppah still stands. She slowly walks over there, and just stands there staring at it. "Still beautiful after all this time," she whispers, reaching out and running her fingers over the wood. Noticing the goat on the one pole, Lorelai smiles softly and walks over to the goat.

"Gilbert," she says, still smiling. She runs a finger over Gilbert, remembering how Luke thought she liked goats, giggling a little to herself. "So, Gilbert, what do you think? Am I just being stupid? Was the thing with Max stupid? I mean, was I just crazy getting engaged to Max in the first place? I just wanted to be married, to have someone around, to make my mother happy. Actually, I'm not sure why I said yes at all. So I was stupid wasn't I?" She stares at the goat for a moment, as if she actually thinks the thing will answer her. "And now Christopher." She sighs, shaking her head. "Why do I still not feel it? I mean some people fall in love at 16, Rory did, but I - I didn't. I didn't fall in love at 16. Or 26. Or 34. Why isn't this right for me? Why can't I fall in love with someone? Someone who's kind and wonderful, who loves me and wants to be with me? Why are all of these guys my John Taglieri?" Lorelai bites her lip, suddenly getting choked up. "Where is my Doug Ross?" she adds. She covers her eyes as she tries to regain control. Looking back at Gilbert through her misty eyes, she reaches out and traces Gilbert's form.

"You know I had to agree to it don't you? I mean with Jess. I had to. Rory's the most important thing in my life, the best thing I've ever done, the best thing that ever happened to me. If she were to find out, she'd never forgive me. If Chris were to find out, she'd never forgive me. And if I don't marry Chris, she'll never forgive me. It's a no choice situation." She looks down at the ground, tapping her foot nervously. "It really is, isn't it?" Lorelai looks back up at Gilbert. "Isn't it?" Lorelai closes her eyes for a moment, remembering the day that Luke brought the chuppah over. She can still hear Luke telling her that marriage is good if you find that one person. "Why is it that the one person is never the person I'm marrying?" she whispers.

Lorelai opens up her eyes, staring at the chuppah again. "But people can evolve together," she repeats as she had just over year ago. Pursing her lips, Lorelai lets another moment of silence go by. "Thanks for the talk Gilbert, but you know that Rory is more important than my happiness. That's why you were created in the first place." She smiles. "One day you'll understand, when you have little Gilberts running around." She giggles. "Okay, now I'm Dr. Doolittle. Nope I'm not even that good, the animals I talk to are made of wood." She giggles again. Lorelai turns and begins to walk away, but glances back at the chuppah.

"I'm doing it for Luke too you know," she whispers, suddenly solemn again. "I just would have ended up hurting him." She sighs, angrily wiping the tears out of her eyes. "He could have been the one." She rubs her forehead, feeling a headache starting again. Shoving her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, Lorelai walks back inside the house.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes:** Glad ya'll liked my anniversary chapter. I'm just glad I made it that far because I've never been able to before. Hopefully I can do better for the next big chapter (I would expect Luke and Lorelai will be together by then). Actually, since I know where I'm going with this, you can expect that Christopher doesn't have that many chapters left. Rejoice. Read. Review. All that good stuff.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**  
Luke's Diner**

Rory walks into Luke's Diner, apparently frustrated with life, and settles into a chair at the table by the window. Luke looks up from wiping down the counter and watches Rory slouch into the chair. He grabs a coffee cup and the coffee pot and walks over. "Looking for this?" he asks. Rory smiles faintly.

"It's all I've got going for me right now," Rory says. She stares at the table sadly, her arms crossed on the table. Luke pours her the coffee watching her reaction, but she just takes the cup and drinks the coffee without a response. Luke sighs, sitting down in the chair by her.

"What's going on?" Luke asks. Rory looks at him, shocked. "Anna says I need to work on my paternal skills, so I'm working on them. Is that okay?" Rory smiles.

"Sure thing. I'd be glad to be your guinea pig daughter."

"I'd listen to you anyways, you know," Luke tells her. Rory nods, still smiling. "So, tell me what's got you looking so un-Rory-like."

"It's Paris. You met her?" Luke nods. "Yeah, she thinks I did something that I didn't do, I swear, but she's mad and she's trying to destroy my articles for the paper and my pictures in the yearbook and…" Rory trails off, watching Luke's blank face. "You could really care less, couldn't you?" Luke chuckles.

"No, it's not that, it's just – you're better than this Rory. You're not some airhead who spends the day wondering if every strand of her hair is perfect. You love to read. You want to go to Harvard. You want to be something."

"Yeah… that's true."

"In a few months you're going to graduate from that school and you'll never see those people again. You'll never care what you looked like in the yearbook until they do a documentary of you on 'Before They Were Stars'."

"You've watched that show?" Rory asks, an eyebrow raised.

"No, it's probably just something your mother's mentioned," Luke replies. Rory laughs. Luke smiles, pleased to have gotten her out of her bad mood. "Don't worry about it Rory. When I met Paris, she didn't seem like someone who would put anyone on her good side for a long time."

"Wow you do know Paris." Rory nods, thinking about what Luke's said. She looks over at him. "April should be proud to have you as a dad."

"Thanks," Luke responds. Jess walks over. "Hey," Luke says, standing up.

"No, sorry, keep talking. I'm invisible," Jess says.

"Clearly that can never be true," Luke responds.

"I'm just playing guinea pig," Rory says. She winks at Luke. He nods.

"Okay, I'll leave you two. And I'll get you a donut," Luke says.

"Two?" Rory asks.

"Being a little greedy today?"

"One for Mom."

"Your mom needs to lay off the donuts and eat an apple once in awhile," Luke crabs.

"I'll be sure and tell her that," Rory kids. Luke taps the table and then walks away. Jess pulls the chair up next to Rory and sits. They share a kiss. "So, what are you doing on April 20th?" Jess looks at her strangely.

"Rory, it's barely February. I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow," Jess says.

"You're working tomorrow," Rory informs him. "But on April 20th is my mom and dad's wedding so I want you to have the date saved now." Jess doesn't look like he wants to do any such thing.

"Do I have to? Your mom doesn't really like me."

"Yeah, but my mom isn't the one asking you. I am. You're my boyfriend and you'll come for me. Won't you?" Rory gives him her best puppy dog eyes. Jess looks down shaking his head.

"I can't believe you're going to make me do this."

"It'll be fun, I promise," Rory says. She stands and picks up her backpack. "I've got a lot of homework today, so let's plan for tomorrow." Jess sighs, standing. He wraps an arm around her shoulders.

"Is it possible when you go to school that you might have more time for me?" Jess asks. Rory shakes her head, grinning. Jess rolls his eyes but leans over and kisses her. Luke walks over with a bag of donuts and hands the bag to Rory.

"Thanks, Luke."

"I put an apple in there for your mom." Rory giggles. "Don't tell me if she doesn't eat it, I like to keep my ideals about the two of you. And try to eat the bigger of the two donuts."

"Aw, so sweet of you to care if my mom balloons up to 800 pounds."

"It hasn't happened yet, but there's still tim,." Luke notes. Rory laughs.

"Well thanks Luke." She kisses Jess quickly and walks out. Jess glances up at Luke, who is watching Rory cross the street.

"That was a lovely scene," Jess says sarcastically. Luke glares at him. "So, you ready for April 20th?" Luke furrows his eyebrows, confused. "When Rory's mom is getting married…" Luke tries to contain his surprise. "She didn't tell you they set a date? Wow." Jess actually does seem surprised.

"She doesn't keep me apprised on every small moment of her life," Luke says. Jess shakes his head in disbelief.

"You know, you should have told her," Jess tells Luke.

"Told her?" Jess glares at Luke, hoping Luke will just figure it out for himself. Luke nods sadly. "It's just – we're not right Jess – I feel like Beauty and the Beast around her."

"She's not the beast is she?"

"No, Jess. She's beautiful and smart and amazing and everyone loves her and when she looks at me all she sees is this, a diner owner, a guy who wears flannels and grumps about everything." Luke sighs.

"Maybe that's true and maybe it's not," Jess comments. "You'll never know until you try." Jess looks at him pointedly and walks away.

"It is true," Luke mumbles knowingly, still staring out the window. He sighs, disappointed that things never seem to turn out right for him.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes: **Don't get used to me updating this quickly, it's only for this week. Spring breaks starts for me this week and I'm going to visit the 'rents (big ick, my relationship with my parents is similar to Lorelai's, my mother is Emily, I swear, minus the rich factor) and then I'm taking a short trip to DC (don't ask me why I love that city, I just do). And while I'm not sure why I just told you all that, I just want you to savor these next few chapters because next week there won't be any updates. And I have to do this quickly because I know where I want to leave the story off.

Also I want to again thank all my reviewers, you guys are great! I love all the comments! And a special thanks to those who have reviewed almost every chapter!

** ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Luke's Diner**

**Apparently I really like to do scenes in Luke's Diner, cuz that's where all the action is (Dirty!) **

Chris walks into the diner looking a little unsure of himself. He glances around at all the other customers at the tables and decides to head to the counter instead. Jess walks out of the back and notices him. "You need something?" Jess asks, in his very Jess-like way.

"Yeah, I'm picking up coffee. Two cups. To-go," Chris says. Jess nods. He walks over to the coffee maker and starts playing with it. "You can just give me what's in that pot there." He motions. Jess looks at him like he's crazy.

"Is one of the cups for Lorelai?" Jess asks. Chris looks surprised at the mention of his fiance but nods slowly. "Yeah, this isn't strong enough for her or Rory." After putting in a filter, Jess begins to dump coffee grinds inside.

"Oh, I guess I didn't realize it had to be made special. Are your other customers going to drink what's left?"

"What's left? They can drink about two full pots by themselves," Jess replies. "Don't you know this?" He glances back at Chris.

"Ah, you must be my kid's boyfriend," Chris realizes.

"In the living flesh." Jess shakes his head and goes back to getting the coffee pot started, clearly not caring what kind of first impression he's giving to his girlfriend's father.

"It's nice to meet you finally," Chris says, still attempting to gain Jess's acceptance.

"Yeah, jumping for joy over here."

"Okay, I guess we must have gotten off on the wrong foot." Jess finishes pouring the coffee and starts the coffee maker. He turns around to face Chris, wiping his hands on his shirt.

"Whatever." Luke walks out of the back looking very un-Luke-like. He's wearing the black pants and shirt the Lorelai bought him and isn't wearing a baseball cap. He notices Chris. Jess folds his arms over his chest, ready to watch the two men.

"Hey, Chris," Luke says, raising his hand in a wave.

"Hey. Wow, big date tonight?" Luke nods, a slight grimace in his expression.

"Yeah, it's not big though. Anna's my ex." Luke seems very uncomfortable with the situation and the upcoming date.

"Well things can work out with ex's too, Lorelai was mine," Chris reminds him, not really getting the fact that Luke is incredibly uncomfortable. Luke nods.

"Yeah. Right. Oh hey, congrats on April 20th," Luke says, attempting to be casual about it.

"Yeah, thanks. We're really excited to finally settle things," Chris says. Jess shakes his head smirking. Luke glances at his watch.

"Well, I gotta be going. Jess, I'll be back before you close," Luke says. Jess nods. Luke nods to Chris and walks out, possibly early for his date but needing any reason to get out of that situation. Chris looks back at Jess, to find the boy watching him.

"What?" Chris asks, defensively.

"You're so proud of yourself, aren't you? Like Charlie Brown finally getting a date with the little red-haired girl," Jess says.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"You know, Charlie never knew when he had been had either. He just kept believing Lucy, kept thinking he'd be able to kick the football." Jess shakes his head. "Man, Charlie Brown was pretty stupid, always end up on his ass."

"You know, you're talking to your girlfriend's father here," Chris says, proud of the title of Rory's dad as usual. But Jess doesn't back down.

"You could take a lesson from Charlie Brown. Man, you've been had."

"Why don't you tell me what you're trying to say, so I can get out of here," Chris says, starting to get angry.

"Don't you realize? Or are you so taken with her that you're not even thinking? I don't get you guys." Chris gives him a blank stare. "They slept together."

"What? Who?" Chris asks stupidly. Jess rolls his eyes at Chris's naivete.

"Your fiancé and my uncle," Jess says. "I have to spell it out for you, huh?" Chris looks dumbfounded. "You don't really think she called you that night? I can't believe you believed that. Well I can tell where Rory gets her common sense from, and it ain't you Man."

"Okay, I get it. You want your uncle with Lorelai, but making up lies like this is not going to do it," Chris retorts.

"Like I care who my uncle's with. I'm not making this shit up. I heard overheard them talking about it in the hospital when Rory went to get you. They slept together and once you get that I'm telling you the truth, you'll realize that your entire relationship with her is a lie," Jess says. Chris doesn't respond right away as he mulls this over.

"They – she – it was a lie?" Chris asks himself, possibly going over every conversation he's ever had with Lorelai since he broke up with Sherry. He's looking down at his feet. Jess watches Chris try to think his way through to the truth. Finally, Chris looks up at Jess. "She lied," Chris realizes, a new found understanding coming over his face.

"Yup. She's Cleopatra." Chris shakes his head.

"You know, I'd better go," Chris says. "Thanks."

"Don't you want the coffee?" Chris stops. He looks back at Jess.

"No, I won't be needing that." Chris walks out. Jess grins, proud of himself and amazed at the same time at how dense Chris was. Jess shakes his head and walks into the back of the diner.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes:** I believe that this is where I'm going to leave this story for about two weeks, something to mull over I guess. (Hey it's a shorter hiatus than the actual show.)

But I'm going to try to get your opinion here on my next story. Yes, **When Hearts Collide **will continue for quite awhile, but I have other ideas. It's actually a story I've been picking at occasionally since the end of last season. Right now the title is **Generations**. It's about five Gilmore women in four different generations: Emily, Lorelai, and Rory of course and Lorelai's other daughter and Rory's daughter who are both 16. I'm thinking about going back to a first-person POV as I did in **Loved and Lost**. This fic won't feature Luke and Lorelai's relationship as much as my others but Luke will still be in it, obviously. But this will very obviously be a Future Fic. Anyways, just let me know what you think, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough written to post any until school's out. We will see.

Now, back to the story and have a good beginning of spring!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chris's Condo in Boston**

Lorelai uses her key to let herself into the dark condo. She has trouble with the lock trying to balance her purse and her large coffee at the same time. But Lorelai's a pro at the coffee balance and gets in without any spillage. "Chris," she calls as she closes the door behind her. There are no lights on in the entire place. As she glances around, she spies various bottles of alcohol and empty beer cans. "Chris!" She glances into the living room and sees him on the couch, his head in his hands, a glass of scotch on the table next to him.

Lorelai walks into the living room. "There you are. I thought you were meeting Rory and me at my parents's house tonight," she says brightly, so as not to indicate that she's slightly worried about him. She sets her coffee and her purse on the counter. "It doesn't look like you were too busy to come tonight, too drunk maybe. Having fun playing Howard Hughes?" She takes off her jacket and lays it over the back of the chair. "Chris?" She walks over and kneels in front of him, setting her hands on his knees. "Are you all right?" Chris looks up at her, although drunk, he's able to stare deep into her eyes. His eyes are dark and mysterious while hers are a light blue, loving and worried. Chris grabs her hands, each of his holding tightly to each of hers so that she can't move. "Chris!"

"Do you want to marry me?" he asks, his voice gruff and low. Lorelai's eyes go wide as she stares down at their hands.

"Ow! Chris, you're hurting me!" Lorelai exclaims, a little alarmed at his roughness.

"Lor! Do you want to marry me?" he demands. Lorelai looks up at him, her mouth open in surprise.

"Yes!" she insists in a loud whisper.

"Liar!" he yells. He stands, and as he does, he shoves her back so that she lands on her back. Lorelai stares up at him in shock.

"Chris!" Lorelai exclaims, stunned, never having seen him quite this drunk. She takes a deep breath. "Yes, I want to marry you," she claims. He reaches down and grabs her left hand tightly.

"You accept my ring, you claim to want to marry me…"

"I do!" Lorelai maintains, her voice inching higher.

"No!" He rips the ring off her finger and throws it. They hear it clang against the wall, the sound resonating in Lorelai's ears.

"Ow!" she cries. She rubs her hand with other. Slowly, she pushes herself up to stand in front of him. "Chris, I don't understand…" But when he steps closer to her, Lorelai steps back again and again, subconsciously afraid, until her back is against the wall.

"Did you sleep with Luke?" he asks harshly.

"Oh…" she says quietly, her cheeks turning red. Lorelai looks up at him sadly, her eyes betraying the sorrow she's feeling, letting Chris know he's gotten to her. "Chris…." He glares at her with cold angry eyes that she's never seen directed at her before.

"The truth this time Lorelai," Christopher demands. Lorelai takes a deep breath. He grabs her upper arms, shaking her. "The truth!"

"Yes!" she cries. "I'm sorry, Chris, it was an accident!" He lets go of her and she rubs her arm where he has left finger marks, seeing cuts where his nails pierced her skin. "It was a mistake," she insists, still looking at her arm. She doesn't look up in time to see his hand flying at his face, slapping her across her right cheek. "Chris!" she exclaims again, her hand covering her cheek. But she can't move away, as he still has her trapped against the wall.

"It was not an accident," Chris insists. Lorelai swallows, trying to keep from revealing her fear, but Chris can sense it and it only makes him stronger, as he gives deeper into his drunken state.

"Chris, it was." As Lorelai tries to maneuver away from Christopher, he grabs anything he can to keep her where she is, his hand wrapping around her throat and shoving her back against the wall. His mind drunk with alcohol and power stops him from comprehending what he's doing to Lorelai.

"It was not an accident. You love him! You've always loved him! You've lied to me the entire time!" Chris shouts, as Lorelai tries to breathe.

"Chris. Can't. Breathe," she manages, gasping for breath. Chris glares at her but, for some reason, lets go. He steps back away from Lorelai as she grabs her throat, choking, gasping for breath. Lorelai looks up at Chris, a tear escaping down her cheek. "We were trapped. In the car. I was scared. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. But it was a mistake." Chris doesn't seem to buy this answer. As Lorelai stands there gasping for breath, she feels his hand come crashing down again on her right cheek, tearing the bruise that has already formed. "It was an accident!" she shrieks.

She glances up in time to see his hand coming at her again. Lorelai quickly reaches up and grabs his wrist before he can touch her again. "Don't you dare, Christopher Hayden! Don't you dare touch me again!" Chris stares at her, trying to understand what is happening, but in his drunken state nothing seems quite clear to him. Finally his arm relaxes and Lorelai slowly lets go of his arm. She rubs her cheek, not noticing the blood on her hand. Lorelai shakes her head, thinking about what to do. "I know you're drunk and you probably won't remember this tomorrow and I'm sorry, Chris. I shouldn't have lied. I did want to marry you. I did," she says, her strong voice getting softer as she speaks. They stare at each other.

Finally Lorelai breaks their gaze. She grabs her purse and heads out the door, slamming it behind her. She stands on the porch, breathing hard, and doubles over, her emotions suddenly getting the best of her, arms wrapping around her stomach as the waves of nausea hit. Shaking, Lorelai opens her purse and digs around for her keys. "Oh no," she mumbles, realizing her keys were in her jacket pocket and her jacket is still inside the condo. Lorelai glances back at the door but hesitates, not wanting to go back inside. She reaches for the doorknob but jerks her hand back, shaking. "I can't," she whispers.

Lorelai slowly backs away from the door, tears running down her face. She takes her cell phone out of her purse, staring at it, trying to decide who to call. Finally she gives into her first impulse and presses the familiar numbers.

"Luke's." She breathes a sigh of relief, hearing Luke's familiar voice over the phone, an instant comfort to her. "Hello?" he says, startling Lorelai, who realizes she hasn't said anything.

"Luke?" she says, surprising herself with her own timid shaky voice.

"Lorelai?" Luke asks. He's tallying an order on the pad on the counter in front of him. Lorelai begins to sob, hearing the tenderness in Luke's voice. "Lorelai, where are you?" He looks up from what he's doing, hearing the broken woman over the phone.

"I'm – I'm at – I'm in Boston," she manages between sobs.

"I'm on my way. I'll call you when I'm almost there so you can tell me how to find you," Luke says without a moment's hesitation. She hears him hang up the phone and collapses onto the steps leading up the condo. Lorelai wraps her arms around her legs, shaking and sobbing.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes: **And I'm back! Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter! My break was awesome and thankfully relaxing so now I'm ready to get back to studying and writiing this story. And I can't wait for some new GG eps on Tuesday, I'm spoiler free but I can already tell it's going to be a long summer, like always.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Back at Luke's**

After finding Lorelai, Luke helped her into the truck. The entire ride back, neither of them said a word. Luke was worried about what to say and Lorelai didn't know what to say. The only thing he could get out of her was that she doesn't want him to take her to the hospital. Just a few minutes into the ride, Lorelai's sobs lessened to just a few tears. Just the feeling of Luke, knowing he's there, helped her to calm down.

Luke pulls his truck up in front of the diner and turns off the engine. They both stare at the diner, but neither moves. "Did you want me to take you home?" Luke asks. Lorelai slowly looks up at him and Luke finally sees her face streaked with tears and blood. She shakes her head and Luke nods. He swallows to hide the fact that he's afraid that he might hurt her and that he's unsure of what to do. He motions towards the diner with his head. Knowing what he means, they both open up the doors of the truck and climb out. Luke walks over and takes Lorelai's elbow, helping her into the diner.

Luke watches Lorelai's face as they enter the diner, but she shows no sign of emotion. Lorelai doesn't move to remove Luke's jacket that he had put around her. "Let me get you some ice," Luke offers, needing to leave the room for a moment to get control of himself, knowing the only way he can help her is to hold himself together. He walks in the back to get the ice. Lorelai glances around at the unusually dark quiet diner. Luke walks back out with a filled ice pack and hands it to her. Lorelai looks up at him questioningly. "For your cheek." He motions to the large bruise forming on her right cheek.

"Thanks," Lorelai whispers gratefully. She holds the ice pack up to her cheek, feeling the cold moisture against her skin. Luke sees the slight reaction on her face when the ice finally touches her, the first sign that she is actually connected to reality. "I should call Rory," she says, still with a soft voice. Luke nods and motions to the phone behind the counter.

Lorelai walks over to the phone. She picks it up and stares at it, hesitating. Finally she dials her own number and waits. "Hello?" she hears Rory's sleepy answer.

"Hey, Hun, sorry to wake you up, I just didn't want you to worry. I'm going to stay at your dad's tonight," Lorelai lies. She refuses to look at Luke, knowing the look of displeasure that is probably on his face. He watches her nod a few times in response to whatever Rory is saying. "Okay sounds good, I'll see you tomorrow," Lorelai says, trying to keep her voice from shaking and letting Rory in on the events of the night. "Love you too." She hangs up the phone.

"You didn't want to tell her?" Luke asks. Lorelai glances over at Luke and shakes her head. She looks down at the floor, knowing he's disappointed.

"He's her father. No matter what, he's still her father," Lorelai says. Luke nods. She looks up at him, biting her top lip.

"You can stay here tonight. I'll get something to fix those cuts," Luke says, not really knowing what is right to say in this case.

"Cuts – I – …" Lorelai glances down at her hands, seeing the blood she has wiped onto them for the first time. She looks back up at Luke, a pained expression on her face. Now biting her lower lip, Lorelai walks back around to counter to stand in front of Luke. "How bad does it look? Tell me the truth," she insists in a strong whisper. Luke swallows. "Luke?" she says again, taking off his jacket and revealing more injuries. Luke had a pained look on his face as looks her over, but Lorelai's insistant looks tells him that he needs to tell her what she wants to know.

"Well, you have a large bruise on your right cheek. It was cut and bleeding earlier but that seems to have stopped. There's also a cut on your forehead, it's small but, it's there," Luke begins in a gruff but comforting voice. He takes a deep breath, not wanting to go on, but he sees the patient look on Lorelai's face and knows he must. He swallows again, his eyes traveling down, following the trail of bruises. "There are bruises on your neck, like finger marks, like someone grabbed you – by – by the throat," he manages, getting choked up, running his thumb across his forehead. His eyes are watery but Lorelai's remain dry as she listens to him. "And there are also finger like bruises on your upper arms and a few small cuts there too." He presses his lips together, watching Lorelai's reaction. He nods to let her know that is all he can see, but knowing there's more than meets the eyes.

"Thank you," she whispers.

"Lorelai…" he starts, knowing he wants to ask her, but can't. "Did he…? Did – were you raped?" Lorelai gasps.

"No." As Luke stares at her, he knows she's not hiding anything. He nods, breathing a small sigh of relief. "Chris was – he – he was drunk – but – he still – he wouldn't," she chokes out, finally becoming emotional. One small tear runs down her cheek. And all Luke wants to do is go to her and hold her while she cries, but he's afraid, her intense vulnerability is scaring him.

"What did you fight about?"

"You," she answers looking directly at him, hitting him with the full force of her words. She looks down, twisting her hands together. Luke can see that she doesn't want to say anymore at this point.

"Let's go upstairs and I'll fix those cuts," Luke says. "Don't forget the ice pack, it'll decrease the swelling." This reminds Lorelai that her hand is cold from the ice pack and she puts it back on her face. Luke motions for Lorelai to walk first and he heads up the stairs behind her.

When they get to the apartment door, Luke opens it up and allows Lorelai to walk in first. She glances around at the apartment that used to feel warm and inviting, but on this night feels dark and mysterious. Yet, it still seems like the only safe place in the world. "Have a seat," Luke says as he goes to the closet to get out the first aid kit. Lorelai nods.

She walks over to a chair at the kitchen table and sits. Luke wets a wash cloth and grabs some medication out of the kit. "I'm not going to hurt you," Luke confides in a deep quiet, but loving, voice. Lorelai nods shortly. He kneels down in front of her. She closes her eyes as he reaches up with the wash cloth and slowly wipes the blood off of her face and upper arms. Then Luke takes a bit of the medication and rubs it over each of her cuts. It gets harder and harder for Luke to look at her as she begins to tear up again. Lorelai opens her eyes and their eyes lock as Luke finishes his work. Lorelai licks her lips as she finally looks away. "You okay?" he asks. She nods, still not looking at him.

"Okay," Luke says, standing. "The bed is made with new sheets, let me get you something to wear." Lorelai nods.

"Why are you so dressed up tonight?" Lorelai asks quietly. Luke glances over at her questioningly as he goes through his drawers. "I mean, you're not flannelled, no baseball cap."

"I had a date. I went to dinner with Anna," Luke answers.

"Oh, I didn't mean to pull you away."

"You didn't," Luke answers quickly. "I had already dropped her off at home before you called." He walks back over with a pair of boxers and a large t shirt. "Here." Lorelai takes them but doesn't move. "The bathroom is over there. Do you want me to get you some coffee? Or water? Or a donut?" Lorelai cracks a soft smile but shakes her head. "Okay." Luke reaches out his hand and helps her up, although she doesn't hold onto him too tightly.

"I'm going to…" She motions towards the bathroom. Luke nods. He watches Lorelai make her way over to the bathroom and close the door.

While Lorelai's in the bathroom, Luke fixes the bed up. Then he grabs another pillow and blanket from the closet and sets them on a chair he has by the bed. Lorelai walks out of the bathroom holding her other clothes in her arms and dressed in Luke's. Luke stares at her, realizing that even bruised and in his clothes, Lorelai still looks beautiful to him. Lorelai looks up at him expectantly, not realizing that he's star struck. "Where should I put these?" she asks, licking her lips again.

"Oh," Luke says, as if startled. "Just put them over by the bed. I can wash them if you want," he offers. Lorelai shakes her head. "Okay well – just…" Lorelai nods. She walks over to the bed, putting her clothes down next to it. She climbs onto the bed as if sleep is something she's been dreaming about forever. "I can sleep somewhere else, or I can just…" He sits down in the chair.

"Yeah…" she manages.

"Okay," Luke says. Lorelai lies down on the bed, her head on the pillow. She turns to lay flat on her back and looks over at him.

"You'll stay here?" she asks, hopefully. He nods. Lorelai gazes at him, a sad, painful look on her face, but Luke summons all his strength not to look away. He realizes then that she has moved her hand toward his. Luke reaches out and takes her hand in his, squeezing it softly. She is comforted by just this small movement from him. "Thank you," she whispers again. Luke nods, the look on his face telling her everything she needs to know. Slowly she turns on her side, facing him and closes her eyes. Their hands still connected as if it's the only lifeline keeping her alive.


	25. Chapter 25

**Luke's Apartment**

Lorelai wakes up the next morning, slowly opening her eyes. She glances at the now empty chair that Luke once sat in and tries to figure out what happened through the fogginess in her mind. She reaches up to rub her face and winces in pai, the bruise on her face is closed but still swollen and tender. Lorelai recalls the fight with Chris, the bruises on her face and arms and neck. She can now feel every aching part of her body and groans. She slowly brings herself to stand up, hoping that if she searches, she can find some aspirin around the apartment somewhere. The place is so familiar to her, although she's only been in the apartment a few times that she can remember just when Rachel was there and when she made him change for the school presentation.

Lorelai walks into the bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror. She frowns at her reflection seeing the purplish, swollen bruise on her cheek along with the gash left by Chris's hand, but she breathes a sigh of relief seeing that the actual imprint of his hand has faded. She reaches up and lightly touches her neck, seeing the deep red imprint left by Chris's hand has become a little lighter in the past few hours. Lorelai swallows hard, as the tears well up once again in her eyes. She opens the cabinet and finds a bottle of aspirin and knocks two into her hand.

"Lorelai?" she hears. She smiles softly, knowing the effect that Luke's voice has on her. She looks once again at her reflection and closes her eyes, forcing herself to erase this image from her mind. "Lorelai?" she hears Luke's call again. Lorelai sighs and walks out of the bathroom, holding the pills in her hand.

Luke stands near the door, a cup of coffee in his hand and she smiles, knowing that's all she needs. Coffee. And Luke. "I heard someone moving around up here and figured it was you," Luke says. Someone? Jess, she remembers, lives here too.

"Where's Jess? Did he stay here last night?" Lorelai asks, worried that if Jess saw her then he would tell Rory. Luke shakes his head.

"I called him and suggested that since he had an early shift at Wal-Mart in the morning, he should just stay with a friend out there," Luke tells her. Lorelai nods. "Coffee?" Luke walks over to Lorelai and she gratefully accepts the warm mug. She tosses the pills in her mouth, taking in a slow drink of coffee. Lorelai looks up into his face and sees the worry written all over. But as she thinks about Jess, she's reminded again of the promise she made, to let Luke move on with his life, not to use him as an escape route. "You okay?" Luke asks, not knowing how to read her poker face.

"I'm getting there," Lorelai replies. Luke nods. "Have you heard from Rory this morning?"

"Yeah, she stopped in for some coffee. She said she was on her way to school to work on some article for the newspaper, by the way Paris is a regular slave driver. Newspaper work on a Saturday?" Lorelai grins. "She said to tell you if I saw you that she'd be home for dinner." Lorelai breathes a sigh of relief.

"So I have some time," she figures. She shivers as she realizes what she must look like to Luke. "I should shower." Lorelai takes another sip of coffee, tryiing to get warm. The cold winter air combining with the numbness from last night's events causing the goosebumps on her arms.

"Go ahead, but Lorelai, that's not going to keep her from seeing," Luke says. Lorelai bites her lower lip, trying to think her way around it. Luke watches her, knowing what's going on in her mind. "I would suggest a turtle neck with long sleeves." She smiles gratefully. "But I'm not sure how to explain…" He motions to cheek and her hand instantly flies up to her cheek. Lorelai winces in pain at just the small touch of her fingers.

"Make up… or… well she knows I'm a klutz, I can come up with something," Lorelai says. Luke doesn't seem happy with her decision.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell her? She loves you," Luke says, trying his best. He knows that Rory would rather know now than find out later.

"I'm sure," Lorelai insists. She drinks a little of the coffee and thinks about a plan for the day. Then she realizes, "my car."

"Is it in Boston?" Luke asks. Lorelai nods. "I can take you there," he offers. Lorelai purses her lips thinking about this but also considering her promise to Jess. "Where are your keys?" Luke asks, thinking she's already agreed to his offer.

"At his place," Lorelai responds. "You know, I'll just have Sookie drive me there. You have a diner to run and take care of and you already had to close early last night."

"It's no problem," Luke says lightly. Lorelai knows full well he'd do it again and again for her, but also knows she shouldn't allow him to do that.

"No, Sookie can take me," Lorelai says, with a tone of finality in her voice. Luke sighs, wishing that he could do more.

"What are you going to tell Sookie?" Luke asks. Lorelai shrugs.

"The same thing I'm telling Rory," she answers. Luke shakes his head but doesn't tell her again that he thinks she's wrong. "I'll shower here and go home to change, put on that turtleneck." She smiles as if that's a joke, but Luke doesn't respond. "And go get Sookie." Luke doesn't seem happy with this plan and Lorelai knows it. She reaches out, taking his hand in hers. "Thank you. For last night. For the coffee. For understanding." With the last word, she stares him down, making sure he gets what she's saying.

"I'm always here whenever you need me," Luke responds. Lorelai smiles softly. Suddenly she wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him close. Luke wraps his arms around her waist, comforting her with all he's got. She leans back and looks up into his eyes with a toss of her hair. Luke swallows as he gazes into her eyes, wanting to tip his head and lock his lips with hers, but holding back with everything he's got.

"You're the best friend a girl could have," Lorelai tells him. She smiles softly and then lets go of him. Luke can do nothing as she walks into the bathroom to shower. Luke sighs in frustration, rubbing his head and walks out.


	26. Chapter 26

**Lorelai's House**

Rory walks in to find Lorelai lying on the couch, not quite asleep. "Hey Mommo," Rory exclaims, flouncing on to the couch by Lorelai's feet. Lorelai smiles at her daughter. "The article is done, I have Paris off my back, at least for the moment. I'm so light and airy right now I could just - Whoa! What happened?" Rory exclaims, noticing Lorelai's cheek. Lorelai has covered up all the other marks with a long-sleeved turtleneck as Luke suggested.

"Oh," Lorelai says, her fingers gently grazing the bruise on her cheek. She giggles as if to relieve the tension. "What can I say, your mom is a klutz!"

"Did you run into that dresser in Dad's house? I told you that was going to happen!"

"Oh, yeah, that's what I did, you know me," Lorelai lies, winking to cover up the fact she's lying. Rory shakes her head, smiling. "Did you have a good night?" Lorelai asks, quickly changing the subject.

"Except for my evil mother waking me up?" Rory jokes. "Yeah, I just hung out with Lane for a little while and then came home and went to bed." Lorelai nods. "You and Dad have fun? And don't be gross when you answer…"

Lorelai opens her mouth to answer but falters. A dark look coming over her face and Lorelai looks away for a moment. She sits up, preparing to tell her daughter. "Hun, I need to tell you something," Lorelai begins. She takes Rory's hand, rubbing it with her own. Rory looks worried. "Your dad," Lorelai pauses again watching Rory's face, considering what she should actually say. "And I – we – broke up. We're not getting married," Lorelai finishes, lamely. But Rory's face falls.

Rory looks down at Lorelai's hand and notices the ring missing. "Oh…" she says sadly. Then Rory looks up at Lorelai, forlorn. "What happened?" Lorelai shrugs.

"It wasn't meant to be. We couldn't make it work. I didn't want to leave Stars Hallow and he didn't want to leave Boston. And if we couldn't figure that out, there was just going to be so much more we couldn't agree on," Lorelai explains, sort of telling the truth. It was the truth, but not the reason that Lorelai was done with Chris. "Chris and I stopped being Chris and Lorelai more than 18 years ago and we finally had to face that." Rory nods sadly, but understanding. "Hun?"

"I understand, Mom. As much as I wanted you two to be together, I can understand what you're saying," Rory admits.

"You're not mad at me?" Lorelai asks, a little worried. Rory shakes her head, smiling.

"Course not, Goldie. I love you no matter what," Rory insists. Lorelai wraps and arm around Rory, pulling her to her chest.

"I love ya too, Kate," Lorelai answers, kissing the top of Rory's head. They giggle and hug.

"I'll just wait until Kurt comes along. I'll love him too," Rory says, continuing their reference.

"You bet you will." Lorelai playfully smacks Rory in the arm. "So you staying home and hanging out with the Mommy tonight? Or are you painting the town?"

"Well, I don't really like to paint, although we both know that you do, but I'm going out. Jess finally has a night off so were just going to get together, hang, that kind of thing…" Lorelai nods. "Unless, of course, you want me to stay home with you?" Lorelai gives her daughter a strange look.

"Are you kidding? Without you I can finally watch every version of Miracle Worker and put on my own performance of the water scene. I think I could form my own old biddies club and have all the gals over to join me," Lorelai informs Rory.

"Well as long as you have a plan." Lorelai smiles, shaking her head. Rory's cell goes off and she glances down at it. "Okay, we'll chat tomorrow!" She stands and runs out the door. Lorelai waits for a moment, to make sure Rory's gone and then settles back into her lying down position on the couch. She reaches down on the floor next to her and flips on the TV. Lorelai flips through a few channels before becoming frustrated and clicking the TV off. She purses her lips thinking and walks over to the phone.

Lorelai takes the phone out of the holder, staring at it, thinking about things. Finally she gives in and dials the number. "Luke's Diner," Anna answers. Lorelai's face goes beet red, as if Anna can see who is on the phone. She quickly turns off the phone and throws it down as if it's a hot potato.

"Get a grip Gilmore," she mumbles to herself. Lorelai stares at the phone, wishing she could go back just a minute. And suddenly it rings. "Shit!" Did Anna call back? Against her own will, she reaches out and picks it up. "Hello?" she says timidly, biting her lower lip.

"Lorelai, I'm glad I caught you," Chris says. Lorelai's mouth drops open and she doesn't respond immediately. She can hear Chris clear his voice over the phone. "I, uh, found the key and the ring, so, uh, thanks."

"Chris, what do you want?" she asks coldly, the dark look coming back over her face.

"I just – I wanted to say – I'm sorry. I'm really sorry Lor. I don't really remember what happened. I remember you coming in and I remember you leaving but there's blood on my hands and I know that can't be good," Chris says. Lorelai doesn't say anything, but stares blankly into space, her breath shaky. Chris takes a deep breath. "I know I can't reason this away but I wanted to say that. I know it's not enough." Lorelai sighs, rubbing her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"Chris, you were drunk that's why you can't remember," Lorelai whispers angrily. She huffs not saying anything for a moment. "But this wasn't completely your fault," she finally concedes.

"So?"

"So…" Lorelai takes a deep breath, her eyes closing. "All I'm saying is we're done, but the door to Rory is still open," Lorelai says. Chris breathes a sigh of relief.

"Lor, you'll never know. Thank you. And I will find some way to apologize better than this," Chris says. "I'll always love you Lor." He hangs up. Lorelai follows suit. She stares at the phone for a moment. Then she silently hangs it up and walks upstairs to take an aspirin and go to bed.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes:** I realize I haven't actually thanked my reviewers since I came back. But, so you know, I'm always grateful for your reviews. I really love them! And I do take them seriously, considering that sometimes I change the direction of the story or a least add in a scene I wasn't planning on because of your reviews.

**And a few comments on last night's episode**, so skip this if you haven't seen it yet. Personally I thought it was high-larious. And truly ironic in that I had already written down one or two of those exact jokes to use in my own future chapters. Apparently I'm thinking like a Palladino, no actually Keith Eisner who was the actual writer of the episode. Which isn't such a good thing cuz he only wrote one other episode and that one really wasn't very good. But overall, hilarious. It seemed that break did the GGs some good, it felt like almost old times until that LL scene at the end, where Luke was PodLuke and Lorelai kept her feelings inside. I was surprisingly yelling at Lorelai, which is very unusual for me. But I was yelling at Luke as well. Ay... I miss 5th season LL. And also unusual is the fact that I'm really hating Lauren Graham's hairstyle lately.

And where are my Friday Night Dinners? I mean really haven't seen them this year. I think the one at the beginning of 'You've Been Gilmored' is the only real one I can think of from this entire season. I feel gyped. Even when Emily and Richard were fighting we still had FNDs! They're missing an important aspect of the show, it's not just about Lorelai and Rory but also Lorelai and Emily, at least to me. Maybe there's something coming, I don't know, I don't read spoilers. So, we'll see.

Anyways, in response to this rant I give you: one Friday Night Dinner. Yeah, I know, I'm so good to you.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Friday Night Dinner**

Lorelai and Rory walk up to the front door. "Have I told you yet how jazzed – no excited – no – no thrilled I am to be here today?" Lorelai deadpans.

"Mom, it's going to be okay," Rory says. Lorelai doesn't look like she believes her.

"Yes, I can hear it now. Mom, I'm not marrying Christopher. 'Oh Lorelai that's fantastic. I never wanted you to marry the father of your daughter. I'm so glad I wasted money planning your wedding. All that matters to me is your happiness.'" Lorelai says in her faux-Emily voice. Rory giggles. "Yeah, I really think that's going to happen," Lorelai says in disbelief.

"Well you let me know when you're ready for me to ring the doorbell." Lorelai purses her lips and sighs.

"No sense in delaying the inevitable," Lorelai says. She reaches in front of Rory and rings the doorbell. The maid opens the door.

"Oh, I thought Mrs. Gilmore said there would be three," the maid says. Rory and Lorelai share a look. Lorelai smiles.

"Nope just us chickens," Lorelai replies. The maid doesn't look like she understands. Lorelai rolls her eyes. "It's just us." The maid nods. She steps aside to let Lorelai and Rory in. They hand the maid their coats.

"Mr. Gilmore and both Mrs. Gilmores are in the living room," the maid says and walks away. Rory and Lorelai share another look. Lorelai shrugs. She takes Rory's hand and they walk into the living room.

"Rory, Lorelai," Emily says, welcoming them. Lorelai surveys the room, noticing Trix in a chair next to Richard. "Where's Christopher?" Lorelai's eyes go wide and she glances behind her as if she expects him to be there.

"Oh, he must have run off with the spoon," Lorelai responds. Emily glares at Lorelai. "Get it, he's a dish. A dish?" No one laughs. Lorelai glances at Rory who shakes her head violently. Lorelai shrugs.

"So, I take it he's not coming tonight?" Emily responds, disappointed. Rory gives Lorelai a look telling to just spill it, but Lorelai holds back. Instead she smiles at Trix and Richard.

"Hello, Gran," Lorelai says, walking over and sitting on the couch next to Trix's chair.

"Well hello Lorelai, I was wondering when you were going to notice me," Trix says in her haughty tone.

"Oh Gran, I would could never ignore you," Lorelai teases.

"Hello there Rory, are you just going to stand there by the door? Emily is that where you make your granddaughter stand?" Trix berates Emily.

"No. Rory go sit by your mother. Here's a soda and give your mother the glass of wine," Emily orders. Rory takes the drinks and walks over to sit next to Lorelai. She hands Lorelai the wine.

"Lorelai, I heard that you have a wedding coming up in April," Trix says. Lorelai forces a smile, refusing to turn and look at Rory.

"Yes, it's going to be wonderful. We have the hall and the flowers and the invitations all picked out," Emily says. Lorelai glances up at Emily, trying her best to keep the horrified look off her face.

"Actually..." Lorelai begins, looking suddenly tense.

Unfortunately the maid walks in and tells them that dinner is ready. Richard helps Trix up, who has begun to go on about how dinner is never ready on time, and they walk into the dinner room. "Well come on!" Emily exclaims, motioning to Lorelai and Rory. She walks into the dining room.

Lorelai and Rory slowly stand up. Lorelai quickly downs her drink. "Do you think they'd notice if we just didn't show up at the wedding?" Lorelai wonders. Rory frowns in thought.

"It's hard to say," she answers. Lorelai chuckles. She puts an arm around Rory and leads her into the dining room. They sit down next to each other across from Emily.

The maid walks in and puts salads down in front of each of them. "So tell me about this man you're marrying?" Trix asks Lorelai, who looks up at her grandmother, timid for once.

"It's Christopher, Rory's father, Mom," Emily responds.

"Actually..." Lorelai begins again. She looks down at her plate, collecting her thoughts.

"He's not Rory's father?" Trix asks, confused.

"Actually, we're not getting married. We broke up," Lorelai informs them, forcing a smile. Rory looks down at her plate, playing with her lettuce, waiting for what comes.

"You broke up?" Richard asks.

"Yes, Dad, we – we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things. We're not the same people we were at 16," Lorelai tries to explain. This doesn't seem to settle anyone in the room.

"How can you just let her do this, Emily? How can you let her just throw her life away?" Trix snaps. Lorelai's eyes open wide.

"She didn't have anything to do with what happened!" Lorelai insists. She glances over at Emily, who's smirking. "What!"

"I can't say I'm surprised. I don't know why I even put any money into this wedding. Of course you were going to break up, of course you were, because that's your style Lorelai," Emily says. Lorelai sits back.

"My style?"

"Yes, this has happened before. With Max. With Christopher the first time."

"Well I never got engaged to Christopher the first time," Lorelai responds.

"With David Dryer." Lorelai's mouth drops open.

"Uh! That was eighth grade!" Lorelai exclaims. "It was for fun. It was a joke. Who gets engaged in eighth grade and gets married?"

"Amy Saddleburg," Emily replies, with a sickly sweet smile.

"And where is she now?"

"I believe she lives in Hartford still with her husband, who she married after high school, and their two children." They glare at each other.

"Well okay, there's one." Lorelai shrugs.

"Still, it is a habit with you. Fine then. Next time you get engaged, don't tell us, just call us up the night before the wedding, I'll get the present out of the closet and come to the wedding," Emily says coldly.

"Oh I hope you don't go through too much trouble," Lorelai mutters.

"Well I deserve to be angry, you've done this time and time again. Just think of what you're doing to your daughter."

"By not marrying someone I don't love?"

"You just spend your life flitting from one man to the next as if it doesn't matter. As if you just need a man by your side to make you happy, who cares which one. And then you get engaged, because it seems inevitable, but eventually you realize that the man was just a fling and you break it off."

"Two broken engagements does not a habit make," Lorelai mumbles, starting to cave under pressure.

"And you'll do it again. Maybe one time, one time you'll make it to the alter. I just hope the wedding isn't in that filthy diner!" Lorelai's eyes shoot arrows at Emily.

"I hope you're not meaning what I think you're saying," Lorelai warns.

"Well it may end up being your only option," Emily retorts.

"Lorelai, your mother's right, you can't just treat men like that," Richard adds.

"You could end up unmarried and where would that leave you?" Trix asks.

"Mom has a point," Richard says, with a wink towards Trix.

"And again just think of the model you're setting for Rory," Emily adds. Lorelai put her head in her hands, trying to block everything out.

"You know, this has been a very unsettling dinner. This argument has upset my palate. I don't think I could eat a bite. Richard, will you come help me to my room?" Trix asks. Emily and Lorelai glare each other.

---------------------------------

Rory and Lorelai walk out of the house into the snow. Lorelai stands there, arms crossed for a moment. "It could have been worse," Rory says. She looks up at Lorelai, her face full of sympathy.

"You know. I've seen those documentaries on TV about cults and tribes. They drag one defenseless member out into the center and attack them verbally and physically until they leave them to rot," Lorelai says quietly. She sighs taking Rory's hand and rubbing it as she looks down at it. She swallows.

"Mom, do you want me to drive?" Rory asks. Lorelai looks up at Rory with tears in her eyes. She sees how deep Rory's feelings run for her and smiles softly.

"Yeah," she says nodding. "Yeah I do." Rory nods and takes the keys from her mother. She gets into the car. Lorelai glances back up at the house, her lips trembling, and she closes her eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes: **

**Robinpoppins** I totally know what you mean. I was eating an M&M when Lorelai opened the door to Luke and told him her parents were there and I laughed so hard almost choked. (When I said I almost died I wasn't kidding.) And it comes on late here so my roommate came downstairs to tell me to stop laughing so loud, but I couldn't stop. And then Lorelai added the Ed McMahon line which made it even better.

**bluedaisy05** You name the date and time and I'll be there with a new script for ASP and a hair straightener for LG!

And for those who are writing and begging for Luke and Lorelai to get together already and for other things I would recommend the next few chapters, because they're gonna be whoppers.

Finally, be sure to check out my new fic **The Inner Lorelai**!

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

**Lorelai's House**

Lorelai pulls up in her jeep following a full day of work. She smiles as she sees Luke mowing the lawn. Getting out of the car, she waves at him. Luke stops the mower and takes a look at her with her cream turtleneck covering the bruises under her black suit. She reaches into her purse and takes out a hair tie, pulling her hair back, revealing the purplish bruise still covering the right side of her face.

"Hey there John Deere," Lorelai says brightly. "Nice job you're doing." She glances over the half-mowed lawn.

"Yeah," Luke grunts. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"You just thought since it was the nicest day we've had in awhile, you'd come over here and mow my lawn?" Lorelai asks.

"Actually, I was hoping to run into you."

"On my front lawn? I don't think that's called 'running into' me," Lorelai mocks, air quoting. Luke grimaces.

"I wanted to check on you." Lorelai smiles softly. "You've been in and out so quickly this week, grabbing a coffee to go and then you're gone. We really haven't had time to talk."

"That's sweet, but I'm fine," Lorelai responds sweetly, giving him a flirtatious smile..

"Fine? You're fine?" Lorelai smile disappears as her expression hardens.

"I'm fine," she repeats. Luke lets go of the mower, his hands going to his hips.

"Stop that, stop lying Lorelai. This is me you're talking to. The one who picked you up in Boston, who found you broken on his doorstep and brought you back and took care of you."

"I called you for a ride not to rescue me from anything," Lorelai responds coldly. Luke gives her a look.

"Lorelai, I saw the look in your eyes that night." Lorelai presses her lips together.

"Well, I'm fine now. I'm healing. It's in the past," Lorelai maintains. Luke looks at her like she's crazy.

"This is how you do it, this is how you always do it. You hide it all inside. But you can't do that Lorelai. Not this time. I won't let you," Luke vows. Lorelai tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I have to put this in the past, Luke. I have to move on. If it keeps coming up, if I keep talking about it, I'll never get past it, and I need to. I can't let one night change me."

"But, Lorelai, if you don't talk about it, you'll never forget it," Luke responds. Lorelai gives him a sorrowful look.

"I may move on, but I'll never forget it," she says evenly. They stare at each other for a moment, letting her words sink in. "Chris is out of my life, but he's still Rory's father, he'll always be Rory's father, I can't change that. And he should be allowed to have whatever relationship with her that he wants. She deserves that. She shouldn't be left with the consequences of my actions."

"Your actions? Lorelai, you didn't make him do this. Just because we slept together, doesn't give him permission to lay a hand on you. Nothing you could do would allow him to treat you like that," Luke asserts. Lorelai nods slowly.

"I know," she whispers. "But one stupid night shouldn't ruin his life." Luke shakes his head. "Hey, Ted Kennedy might have killed a woman but it didn't ruin his life. He's known as one of the greatest senators in current times."

"Yeah, but not back then," Luke notes. Lorelai shrugs. Rory walks up the drive causing the two to stop their conversation.

"Hey, Honey, how was your day?" Lorelai asks as Rory walks over to her.

"I'm just thanking George Burns that this is the last week before spring break," Rory crabs. Lorelai puts an arm around Rory's shoulders.

"Oh, my poor overworked daughter," Lorelai says sympathetically, squeezing Rory's shoulder. Rory grimaces.

"Nice job on the lawn, Luke. Edward Scissorhands would be impressed," Rory teases. Luke glares at her. Rory grins. "Hey did you hear that my mom is the world's biggest klutz?" Rory smirks at Lorelai who plasters on a smile.

"Uh, yeah…" Luke replies lamely. Rory raises an eyebrow, since Luke normally would not refuse a chance to harass Lorelai.

"I'm the klutziest of them all," Lorelai says lightly, giving Luke a hard look. Rory nods.

"So, um, Mom, since he's here and not at the diner, what's for dinner?" Rory asks, flinging her hand towards Luke when she talks about him.

"I was thinking we would just heat up the rest of the Chinese from the weekend," Lorelai suggests. Rory's eyes light up. "Good idea?"

"Great idea!" Rory exclaims, suddenly happy. "You want to stay for dinner Luke?" Luke raises an eyebrow.

"And watch you two eat piles of crap covered in sauce?" Luke asks sarcastically.

"Wow and my appetite is gone," Lorelai kids.

"I need to get back to the diner soon anyways," Luke says. He and Lorelai share a look. Lorelai glances over at Rory.

"Hey, Sweets, why don't you go inside and start warming it up and I'll be inside in a moment?" Rory nods.

"Kay, I've gotta get this monster of a backpack off my back anyways," Rory replies. "See ya Luke." She kisses Lorelai on the cheek, waves to Luke and walks inside. Lorelai watches her go, waiting until Rory closes the door behind her before turning back to Luke. She takes a deep breath, folding her hands in front of her.

"Thank you, Luke. You know, for not saying anything," Lorelai says softly. Luke shakes his head.

"You should tell her," Luke maintains. Lorelai shakes her head.

"No. Let me be the mother and you be the friend." Luke nods. She turns to walk into the house but stops and walks over to Luke.

"You're not going to do anything, are you?" she asks vaguely. Luke stares at her, pretending he doesn't understand, but he does. She touches his wrist lightly. "Please, Luke, leave him alone." Luke looks down, not wanting to look into her pleading, misty eyes. Lorelai presses her lips together, waiting for his response. "For me?" Lorelai holds tighter to his wrist. Luke looks up at her, taking a deep breath.

"Fine," he grunts.

"I just want to let this go. Move on. And I can't…" She shakes her head. "I can't get past it if I have to deal with you and him." Luke grits his teeth, not wanting to give in.

"He shouldn't have touched you." They stare at each other, each trying to stand his or her ground.

"I know," Lorelai finally whispers, biting her lower lip. "But, I need to move on. I have to. I can't let this get the best of me. I'm stronger than that."

"Mom! Dinner's ready!" they hear Rory call. Lorelai glances back at the house and then looks back at Luke. He nods.

"Thank you," she whispers. Lorelai stands on her tip-toes and kisses his cheek. Then she squeezes his wrist, gratefully. "If you keep this up, I'll get you your own white horse." Lorelai smiles and then walks up the steps. Luke doesn't watch her go, not wanting to believe he's given in. He shakes his head and starts the mower again. Lorelai watches him for a moment, smiling softly. A light blush covering her cheeks as she realizes that this man is the only one who's always been good to her, always stagnate, always kind. And she knows she couldn't do it without him. And she knows what she feels for him is more than friendship, so much more. But she's made her promise. She's put her daughter first. And so, though all she wants to do is run to him, throw her arms around his neck and kiss him until they're both breathless, she remains on the porch. Watching him from afar. Time will tell what may come for them, she knows. So she swallows her feelings and walks inside the house.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes:**

** bluedaisy05 **Yes, scissors are exactly what we need! ;)

Hey all, check out my newest oneshot (I know two in one week!) **Lorelai On My Mind**. I think it's the best oneshot I've written.

And as always, keep reviewing:)

**

* * *

**

**Luke's Diner**

Lorelai is sitting alone at the table by the window staring out. She's nursing a coffee. Luke is working behind the counter handing out orders and taking orders, but every once in awhile he glances with one eye over at Lorelai. Finally he grabs the coffee pot and walks over to her. "Refill?" he asks. This seems to startle Lorelai and she glances up at him.

"Uh, yeah, sure," she answers. Luke is about to pour when he realizes that her coffee cup is still full. Luke sighs, setting the pot down on the table.

"Lorelai…"

"What?" Lorelai asks, thoroughly distracted.

"Your cup is still full," Luke responds, motioning. Lorelai glances down. She looks up at him and smiles.

"My cup runneth over," she responds. Luke rolls his eyes. He pulls up the chair next to her and sits down. "So, how's April? And Anna?" Luke looks at her like she's crazy. "What?"

"Rory running late?"

"No… why do you ask?"

"You never want to know about April and Anna," Luke reminds her.

"That's not true. Your daughter is adorable. I love hanging out with her!"

"That's because you act like you're the same age as her most of the time." Lorelai scoffs.

"I am not Sarah Elizabeth McCaffrey!" Lorelai exclaims. "And why wouldn't I want to know about Anna, she's an important person in your life. Isn't she?" Lorelai probes. Luke gives her a look, telling her to lay off.

"So what are you waiting for?" Luke asks.

"Me?" Luke motions out the window. She looks away, not wanting to tell him. Luke teaches out and touches her hand lightly with the tips of his fingers, just letting her know she can tell him anything. "I'm meeting Chris."

"What!" Luke yells, jumping out of his seat.

"Luke!" Lorelai exclaims. She grabs his arms and pulls him back into his seat, glancing around to see if anyone's staring.

"Lorelai, you cannot go meet that man. You remember what he did to you?" Luke asks in a loud whisper. Lorelai looks at him sadly through misty eyes, pressing her lips together.

"Yes, Luke, I remember," she replies hoarsely. "We're not – he's not – he just said he had a box of my stuff to give me. We need to settle a few things." Luke shakes his head, not liking what he's hearing.

"It was just 4 weeks ago that he…" Luke pauses shaking his head menacingly. Lorelai reaches out and touches his arm.

"That's why I didn't want to tell you, Luke." Luke rubs his mouth, mulling this over at her. He shoots a glance at her, looking into her pleading eyes, and nods. "So…" She clears her throat, signalling for a change in subject. "How's Anna?" Luke cracks a smile.

"She's fine," he says and chuckles.

"And you two are…?" Luke gives her a look, but knows he has to reveal more this time.

"We're… I don't really know. We've gone out a few times but I don't know what to make of it. Last time, we broke up really well, so it feels odd to date again. I don't want it to be just because of April and I don't want April thinking it's more than it is." Luke sighs. "It's complicated."

"I'll say," Lorelai comments. "It's hard when the kids get involved." She gives him a pointed look. He nods, understanding. Lorelai glances out the window and notices Christopher's car pull up. She swallows, preparing herself.

"Christopher's?" Luke asks. Lorelai nods. "Listen, do you want me to go with you?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"No," she says, standing. "No, I'll be fine." She fixes her coat and runs a hand through her hair. Glancing at Luke, she can see the concern on his face. "Don't worry." Lorelai gives him a small smile as she walks out to meet Chris.

Chris is standing in the center of the gazebo, just waiting for her. When he sees her walking over, he almost waves but just smiles instead. Lorelai keeps her poker face on as she walks up the steps of the gazebo to stand in front of him. "Hey," he says. They kind of mess around with a greeting, Lorelai going for a shake of hands and Chris going for a cheek kiss. "Oh, sorry." Chris shakes his head as Lorelai steps back away from him.

"No, I – it's okay," Lorelai stammers, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "So…"

"So… I brought that box for you," Chris says, he motions to the box at his feet. Lorelai nods.

"You came all the way to Stars Hallow just to bring me that?" Lorelai asks. Chris smiles.

"No, I came to – I just wanted to apologize again."

"You have Chris, you've apologized like 18 times a day for the past 4 weeks and for the past 4 weeks I've been telling you it's okay." Chris nods. She sighs. "You know a lot happened, it wasn't just the one night. I shouldn't have lied. I shouldn't have cheated on you. And you shouldn't have… well, you know."

"Yeah… it just kills me that I hurt you. You know I would never do that intentionally, you're the greatest, Lor. I just – I don't exactly know what happened."

"You got drunk. Really drunk. Beyond belief drunk. Run down the street naked drunk. It happens," Lorelai tells him. She shrugs. "Chris, it's called forgive and forget. I'm moving on. Are you?" Chris watches her for a moment and then nods.

"Yeah, I'm moving on. But what about Rory?"

"I promised. She doesn't know a thing and she doesn't need to. She's your daughter, Christopher, and she always will be." Chris nods, shoving his hands in his pockets. He glances up past Lorelai at the diner.

"And are you moving on with him?" Chris asks. He motions with his chin over at the diner where Luke stands in the window trying to not be obvious as he watches them. Lorelai looks over and smiles softly, appreciating how much Luke cares. Luke realizes they're staring at him and walks away, still shooting glances out the window as he works. Lorelai chuckles to herself.

"No, Chris. I have a lot going on. The inn. Rory. My parents. Just a lot of stuff. So, no," she explains, but not really.

"Well he's just a very protective friend then," Chris comments. Lorelai blushes, looking down to hide it, but Chris knows her too well. "Okay, well I should be going." He takes his keys out.

"Wait, Chris?" Chris pauses and turns back to her. "Can I ask you one thing?"

"Shoot."

"How did you find out? About," she motions to the diner. "Who told you?" Chris sighs.

"A little bird?" Chris tries. Lorelai shakes her head to tell him that's not going to do it. "Rory's boyfriend."

"Jess?" Chris nods. Lorelai's face goes white, as she realizes the truth. She shoves her hands in her back pockets looking back over at the diner.

"Does that mean Rory knows?" Chris asks. Lorelai barely shrugs, she's struggling with the fact that Jess didn't hold true to their deal. Chris watches Lorelai and sees that she's going to deal with this news her own way. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news." Lorelai looks up at him and nods. "See ya around?" Chris holds out his hand, which Lorelai grasps lightly. She gives him a half-smile.

"Yeah, see you around Chris." Chris winks at her and walks away. Lorelai begins to pace the gazebo, thinking. Finally she grabs the box and heads towards the diner, a determined look on her face.

When the bells ring as she walks in the door, Luke looks up. Seeing the expression on Lorelai's face, he knows something's wrong. "What happened? What did he do?" Luke asks, walking quickly over to her. She shakes her head, not really looking at Luke.

"He – uh – he didn't do anything. Is Jess upstairs?" Lorelai walks past Luke setting the box down on the counter.

"Wait," he says. He rubs his head. "Yeah, he's upstairs, he's waiting for Rory, I think." Lorelai begins to head toward the curtain but Luke grabs her arm. "Wait what happened? Why are you so upset?"

"Nothing, I'm not upset," Lorelai insists throwing off his grasp. However, her face is molded into one of anger. Luke can see she's lying, but isn't sure what to do. "Do me a favor, when Rory gets in here, don't let her upstairs." With that, Lorelai walks though the curtain. Luke stands there in shock, not really understanding what just happened.

"Jeez," Luke mumbles. He turns around and sees Rory walk in and he knows he's going to try his best.

Lorelai runs up the back stairs in less than a second. She throws open the door to the apartment, startling Jess who is sitting on the couch reading. "Are you kidding me with this?" Lorelai shouts.

"Excuse me?"

"Your little act, your little game. Let's make a deal. And I said, okay Monty, let's make a deal. What a fool was I to believe you! To think that you were actually the person Rory promised you were!" Jess puts down his book, but doesn't stand up.

"I don't know what on earth you're talking about."

"You don't know? You don't have the teeniest, tiniest, clue?" Jess shrugs. "Then you're stupider than I thought." Jess scoffs, standing up.

"I didn't do anything to Rory!" he maintains.

"No, nothing to Rory…" Lorelai shakes her head in disbelief. "Except that you ruined any chance she had of being a part of a nuclear family. You know, Mom, Dad, kid, three dogs and a hamster. You destroyed that." Jess looks at Lorelai like she's crazy.

"I didn't do that, you did, when you slept with Luke. It was your own fault, so stop trying to blame everyone else!" Jess responds. Lorelai glares at him.

"Wow, now you're singing a different tune," Lorelai spits back.

"I try not to sing, actually. Only for my own entertainment. But don't worry I'm a great entertainer."

"Yeah well Bob Hope, your entertainment isn't needed here." Lorelai shakes her head, readying herself to finish the fight. "You told me that you weren't going to tell anyone." Neither notices Rory standing in the doorway, Luke stands right behind her.

"Correction, I told you I wouldn't tell Rory and I didn't. I didn't think she needed to know that her mother cheated on her father with my uncle. But I thought your fiancé deserved to know the truth about his fiancé that he thought was Mother Teresa."

"Well thank you, but this wasn't your situation to get involved Edith Gault, stay out of my business!" Lorelai yells. She sighs shaking her head. Her voice gets calm and cold again. "I listened to you Jess. I let him go. I stepped back and let him be with Anna because that was the deal. But I shouldn't have because you had already broken the deal. You're the reason that Chris found out, that he got drunk that night and hit me, that Rory's unhappy and Luke's unhappy. You destroyed everything!" They hear a gasp from behind and Lorelai flips around to see Luke and Rory with tears running down her cheeks.

"You…" Rory chokes out glancing behind her at Luke and then over at Lorelai. "You slept together?" Lorelai and Luke share a glance. Rory looks over at Jess. "And you knew?" she barely gets out. "And told Dad?" She looks back at Lorelai. "And…" Rory chokes down another sob. "Dad… hit you?" She lets out a sob, closing her eyes. She swallows, looking back at Lorelai with tears in her eyes. Rory opens her mouth to say something else but can't get the words out and lets out a choking sob. She turns and runs out past Luke.

Lorelai stares at Rory's retreating form, frozen for a moment, before slowly raising her eyes to Luke's. She glances back at Jess, no longer in anger but sadness. "Excuse me," she whispers before walking out. Luke doesn't watch her go, but glares at Jess, who looks back obstinately.

"Pack. Pack now. You have 20 minutes and then you're getting on that bus and going back to Liz's and you're not coming back this time," Luke says evenly. He walks out.

Jess sighs, shaking his head. He walks over and pulls a suitcase out of the closet. He picks up the book off the couch and throws it in the suitcase sighing again.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes: **okay so I'm loving all of you reviewers so much, like a $2 whore. And in honor of my 30th chapter (wow that's a lot), I'll thank my 29th chapter reviewers individually. So excited for another new episode tonight, have a Gilmorey Day!

**chmelms **- yeah I really tried to get the 'how do I deal with everything at once' thinking for Lorelai. thanks for the compliments!

**hollywoodgrl **- thanks for reviewing almost every chapter, you know I gotta make it dramatic!

**Javamaniac **- the idea that it's not Jess's fault will be dealt with, probably not immediately, but eventually

**LorLukealways **- you gotta remember last time Luke sent Jess away it was because Lorelai yelled at him, and this is so much bigger. yeah it's not Jess's fault but that's not the first thing on Luke's mind right now.

**aries-chica56 - **yeah I think you had to figure that Rory would find out but I'm glad you liked the way I had it happen 

**sarahb2007 **- thanks for the review, glad you're liking the story

**roywthepoodles **- oh my God, your review totally cracked me up. glad you're liking the story so much!

**Ronata **- I love your reviews, I wait for them every chapter! Your review will be answered in the next few chapters!

**sugary sweet **- Thanks for the compliments! For an answer to your review, I recommend this chapter.

**Robinpoppins **- Jess was going to have to leave anyways, per Rory's regular storyline I just changed the reasoning a bit, but I think Luke might eventually reconsider where he stands on the Jess issue

**Gymtig **- Drama is always best, I find it easier to write sometimes than comedy. Thanks for the review!

**GGRox07 **- I think I get more into the characters with each passing chapter. I think it can only get better because I can understand the characters better.

**pixiechick12 **- So glad to hear that I got you addicted. I'm glad you're liking the story, hope you keep reading and reviewing. I actually wish I had taped the last episode so I could laugh at all those jokes again.

* * *

**Gilmore Mansion**

Lorelai stands in front of the large front door, her hands shoved in the pockets of her coat. She's reminded of a day, just a few years ago, when she showed up under similar circumstances. That had ended well. She isn't sure that time will be the same. Finally, she reaches out and rings the doorbell. Emily opens the door.

"Lorelai," Emily says surprised. Lorelai shakes her head, amazed that Emily didn't think she would come.

"Mom. Is she upstairs?" Lorelai asks, not even feeling that proper nouns are necessary in this case.

"Yes, she's in her room."

"Her room is in Stars Hallow," Lorelai says obstinately. She stares up at Emily with a cross expression on her face and Emily relents.

"The room she uses here," Emily corrects herself against her will. Lorelai nods. She walks past Emily inside the house. "I don't think she wants to see you." Lorelai flips around glaring at Emily.

"What do you know about what she wants?" Lorelai spits out.

"Don't take that tone with me Lorelai, I'm not the reason she came running here," Emily says calmly.

"I am not the reason either," Lorelai responds slowly and clearly. Emily doesn't look at all like she believes her daughter but closes the door. "Now, I'm going upstairs to talk to my daughter."

"Lorelai," Richard says walking out of the parlor. "Why don't you come in here and tell us what happened? Rory will come down when she's ready." Lorelai glances from Emily to Richard, deciding what would be best. Should she take the risk of distancing herself from Rory in order to keep her parents from starting another huge fight? Finally she gives in.

"Fine." She walks past Emily, not even bothering to take her coat off. They walk into the living parlor. Lorelai sits on the couch and Emily and Richard sit on the other couch facing her.

"Would you like something to drink?" Emily asks. Lorelai sends her a testy look that says it all. "Okay. Then why don't you tell us what happened." Suddenly Lorelai looks tense, like she wants to get up and run, but she knows that Emily and Richard will find out eventually and it would be best to hear it from her. Lorelai forces a smile in her face, trying to keep things light.

"So, you remember the car crash?" Emily nods. She doesn't respond, knowing that Lorelai will just go off on a tangent if interrupted. Lorelai sighs, realizing that her parents aren't going to help her out. "Well." She swallows. "When we were stuck in the car, not knowing if we would be saved, I – Luke – we – we slept together." Lorelai swallows, but realizes Emily's and Richard's expressions haven't changed. Lorelai bites her lower lip but goes on. "Afterwards, in the hospital, I told Luke that I was going to stay with Christopher, mostly because Rory wanted Chris and I together, and I guess Jess overheard."

"Rory's boyfriend?" Emily asks. Lorelai nods. Emily purses her lips, disappointed. Whether in Lorelai or Jess, Lorelai really can't tell.

"There's more."

"More than you cheating on Rory's father and her boyfriend knowing about it?" Richard asks, disappointment in his voice. Lorelai nods, seeing her father becoming angry, although trying not to notice. "Continue." He motions.

"Well." She clears her throat, trying not to see the disapproving looks from her parents. "When Jess told me he knew, we made a deal, I would stay away from Luke and in exchange he wouldn't tell anyone."

"You mean he wouldn't tell Rory?" Richard asks. Lorelai nods, trying not to see the disappointment on her father's face.

"And Chris, at least I thought," Lorelai answers. Emily and Richard exchange a look.

"But he did tell Christopher," Emily figures out. Lorelai nods. "And did he tell Rory?" Lorelai shakes her head. "I see." Emily sits back, folding her arms over her chest.

"There's more."

"Lorelai! How much trouble did you get yourself in!" Emily finally screeches. Lorelai looks down at the ground.

"Do you want to hear it?" Lorelai asks softly.

"Yes, we want the complete story," Richard says. Lorelai looks up at her father's no muss, no fuss expression. She glances away, trying to gather her thoughts and notices Rory on the stairs, having heard Emily's screech. Lorelai looks up at the ceiling, hoping she can just get through the next few minutes, and then looks back at Emily and Richard.

"When I got to Chris's house that night, when he didn't show up to Friday Night Dinner, he was drunk, really drunk, so drunk he didn't really know what he was doing. And he got mad and...hit me," Lorelai says, choking out the last words.

"He hit you?" Emily asks, breathlessly. Lorelai isn't sure if Emily believes her or not, and so she decides that she has to tell the story in full.

"He yelled at me. He ripped the ring off my finger. He – he grabbed my arms," Lorelai tells them slowly in a soft and shaky voice. Lorelai softly rubs her upper arms, still feeling Chris's fingers there. "And he shook me, yelling at me to tell him the truth. And when – when I did he – he slapped me." Lorelai looks down at the ground. Emily gasps. Lorelai knows she must continue though, it seems almost therapeutic to actually retell the whole story. "When I insisted it was a mistake he grabbed me by the throat against the wall until I couldn't breathe." Lorelai lightly touches her throat. Her eyes are closed in pain. She swallows, vowing to finish this story for the last time. "When – when he finally let go – he slapped me again." Lorelai opens her eyes, staring at nothing, as if reliving the whole sequence of events.

"And he stopped?" Richard asks, his voice full of emotions Lorelai never knew he had. Lorelai nods, looking up and meeting Emily's eyes.

"Yes. Because I grabbed his arm and told him never to touch me again," Lorelai finishes strongly, but still trembling. They hear a sob from the stairs and everyone looks over to see Rory there. Lorelai and Rory share a lingering look, full of emotion and sadness and pain. "He doesn't really remember it at all," Lorelai finishes, more for Rory's sake than anyone else's.

Rory stands and walks down the rest of the stairs into the doorway of the living room, her arms wrapped around her stomach, tears running down her cheeks. "It was my fault," she whispers. Lorelai stands.

"What? No," Lorelai responds. She walks quickly over to Rory, pulling her daughter into her arms. "No, Hun." Lorelai kisses the side of Rory's head, holding her daughter tight.

"I was the one who told you to stay with him. I was the reason you stayed with him and not Luke," Rory insists, looking up into her mother's teary eyes.

"No," Lorelai insists. "It was my fault and Luke's and Chris's and Jess's. But not yours, not yours." She pulls Rory's face to her shoulder as the young girl cries. Lorelai lets herself cry too, softly into Rory's hair.

"It was my fault too," Lorelai hears behind her. She glances over her shoulder, still holding Rory, to see Emily standing and looking at them. Richard is still sitting down, his face in his hands as if he still can't comprehand Lorelai's story.

"What?" Lorelai whispers. She can almost see tears in her mother's eyes.

"It's my fault. You're my daughter and I was supposed to protect you. Before anything else, that was my job," Emily says. Lorelai chokes back a sob, having never heard her mother express anything like this before in her life.

"Mom, I…"

"I just want to say that I'm sorry," Emily says. Lorelai nods. They share a look. Lorelai finally tears her eyes away from Emily and looks down at Rory, who has crumbled into her.

"Thank you, Mom. I'm going to take her home now," Lorelai decides. She glances back at Emily who nods. They both take a deep breath feeling that the second Lorelai leaves, this moment between them will be over. Both wishing that it didn't take such a tragic event to warm their relationship. "We'll see you on Friday." Rory breaks away from Lorelai, wiping her eyes. They each leave an arm wrapped around the other.

"Yeah, we'll see you Friday," Rory adds. Lorelai rubs Rory's arm. Emily nods.

"We'll see you then," Emily says quietly. Then Emily watches as Lorelai and Rory walk out, still arm and arm. "I'm still so sorry Lorelai, but you'll never know," she whispers.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes:**

**This chapter is dedicated to all who've stuck with me and have been reading and reviewing. :)**

**Oh and keep reviewing, but make sure not to mention spoilers in your review because I'm spoiler free! **

**For all who commented about Emily in the last chapter: **You know, I actually wasn't sure how Emily should react but she always seemed more wanting a relationship with Lorelai while Richard was only interested in one with Rory. So I guess that was mostly the reason that Richard faded into the background, but I didn't think that Emily would let anyone hurt Lorelai like that, no matter what Lorelai's done to her (remember Emily's reaction in The Haunted Leg?).**  
**

**pixiechick12 **- Actually I don't think that's what I was going for. I just figured that Luke had pretty much figured it out and Lorelai didn't have to tell him word for word what happened. I think you could pretty much say Luke knew first, before Rory, Richard and Emily. But interesting that you would point that out.

**Robinpoppins - **I completely agree about Jess right now. But I pretty much disliked him when he was on as regular, I didn't like how he treated Rory or Lorelai or Luke. But I saw him starting to mature at the end of the 4th and I really really liked him when he came back earlier this year. Meanwhile to me, Logan hasn't matured (and possibly never will, don't hate me!).

**aries-chica56 **- Ug, the hair. I'd seriously airmail Lauren Graham some scissors if it wouldn't get me in trouble with the law. She used to have the most beautiful hair!

**Ronata** - That is such a big compliment that you would take time during your holidays just to read this. I'm really glad you're enjoying it so much

**roywthepoodles **- You can get engaged to this story, but beware, when the story's 12 year old daughter that it never knew shows up, you might never get married ;) Low blow, huh?

* * *

**Luke's Diner**

This begins after the Independence Inn fire. Lorelai's house has already been filled by the Hatlestads and she has already woken Luke up, been through her Streetcar/Ed Woods routine, and Luke has come down at let her in. Lorelai follows him up the stairs, neither one speaking. The two haven't been alone together since Lorelai's fight with Jess. Lorelai's been getting coffee at work instead of going to Luke's, unsure of what exactly to say to him.

When they get up to the top of the stairs, Luke opens the door, letting Lorelai walk in ahead of him. She pauses after she walks in, just standing there for a moment. Luke watches her, keeping an eye on her as he closes the door softly behind them. She turns around, a peaceful expression on her face. "Thanks for letting me stay here," she says.

"It's no problem." Lorelai nods. She lets out an uncomfortable giggle.

"We always do this, this little dance," Lorelai realizes.

"I think we've gotten pretty good at it Ginger." There's another uncomfortable silence. "I didn't send Jess home for you," Luke says, deciding that things need to be out in the open.

"Oh, I – uh…" She smiles hesitantly.

"I just wanted you to know that, this time I didn't do it for you. I did it for Rory." Lorelai's overcome, really seeing how much Rory means to Luke. "I would do anything for her, I want you to know that."

"I – I know," Lorelai says, a little defensively.

"How is she?"

"She's okay," Lorelai answers quickly. Luke cocks his head, waiting for her to expand. "She's gotten over what I did but she's still working through Chris's actions. I don't think they've spoken since the fight."

"She has a right. He should never have touched you. I can't believe you're okay with this." Lorelai shrugs.

"What good would it do to hold a grudge? It's not Chris. That wasn't Chris that night. He was incredibly drunk and incredibly stupid. But even so, there's a time when you just have to forgive and forget," Lorelai explains. "And move on," she adds, her eyes sliding over to him again. Luke swallows, nodding.

"Um." He pauses, clearing his throat. "Are you doing okay otherwise?" Lorelai shrugs again. She looks down. Then she looks back at him, tears in her eyes.

"The inn had a fire," she says, her voice suddenly trembling. Luke holds out a hand to her and she accepts gladly. He pulls her in, wrapping her arms around her, sighing into her hair, breathing in her beautiful aroma.

"It'll be okay," he assures her in a soft voice. "Everything's going to work out." Lorelai nods, her head on his chest. His lower hand, rubbing her back comfortingly. She leans into him, absorbing all his support.

Finally, they separate, neither knowing exactly what the other is thinking. "Wow, I'm wiped," Lorelai realizes, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. Luke nods. He walks over to the bed, picking up a pillow and blanket. He heads over to the couch. Lorelai looks at him like he's crazy. "What are you doing?" Luke glances back at her in surprise.

"I'm," he begins, glancing back down at the couch. He looks back up at her confused. "I'm setting up the couch for me to sleep on." He motions. "I thought you would take the bed."

"Luke, this is your apartment," Lorelai says logically.

"Yes, but you're the guest," Luke replies just as logically. Lorelai nods, thinking things through.

"Well then we could both sleep in the bed," she suggests, motioning with her hands.

"I – " He pauses, scratching his head. "You think both of us should sleep in the bed?" Lorelai nods.

"That's what I said, George Parker." Lorelai arches an eyebrow at him. Luke nods slowly.

"I think I know what you're saying," Luke says slowly.

"Really? You sussed it out, huh?" Lorelai asks, playing with him. Luke chuckles. She takes a few steps towards him. Luke sizes her up, thinking it over. He takes a few steps towards her as well.

"But you had a deal with Jess," Luke reminds her.

"Already broken." They each take a few more steps closer to each other.

"Yes, but you had your reasons."

"I didn't want you to get hurt," Lorelai answers softly. They've moved so close they're barely an inch apart now.

"I'm not hurting," Luke whispers, almost growling. They stare deeply into each others eyes, not actually touching but just the closeness of their bodies making their hearts beat faster. "Lorelai…" Before he can finish his sentence, she's wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. Luke wraps his arms around her as they kiss slowly and tenderly, getting just a small taste of what they each want so desperately. Luke pulls back, unable to take his eyes off of her, dropping his hands. "I don't want this to be like last time."

"It won't be," Lorelai promises. "As long as you're here when I wake up in the morning."

"I'll be here," Luke promises.

"Even if customers show up to eat before I've woken up?" Lorelai asks, a little unsure.

"Then I'll wake you up and make you help me because they're probably the inn's guests," Luke reminds her. Lorelai smiles, her eyes sparkling

"Even if…"

"Lorelai." He lightly touches her lips with his fingers and then gently strokes her cheek. She closes her eyes, leaning into his touch. Luke runs his thumb over her cheekbone. Lorelai opens up her eyes, staring into his clear blue eyes, her heart racing. "I'm here. I'll be here. I'll always be here," he assures her. Then he leans down and kisses her softly but with more passion than before. Lorelai gives into their kiss, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing herself further against him. Luke lets his other hand travel over to her lower back, holding her close to him, loving the feel of her pressed against him. Lorelai leans her head back farther, opening her mouth to him, allowing his tongue in to explore and he does the same.

Lorelai slowly pulls back, resting one hand on Luke's chest. She pauses for a moment, gathering herself, and gazes into his eyes. Not taking her eyes off of him, she backs up until her legs hit the bed causing her to fall onto it. She reaches up and grabs Luke's t-shirt, bringing him with her as she falls. Lorelai scoots back so that she lies flat on the bed, still holding onto Luke's shirt, forcing him to move with her, as he rests an arm on either side of her body. Luke slowly draws his eyes over her body, taking all of her in, taking a moment to realize that he's not dreaming. "You're so beautiful," Luke whispers to her before dipping his head to kiss her again. Lorelai clasps his head in her hands, pulling him closer, causing his arms to fail him as he collapses on her. Smiling into their kiss, Luke lets one hand drift under her lower back, pulling her lower body to his, as his other hand tangles in her hair. From there they slowly undress each other, giving into the passion they had kept quiet ever since the night in the car. Knowing that this time it would be different, that this time they were both all in and they would be together in the morning.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes:**

Hey all, have a great weekend. I'm heading home for some not-so-awesome Passover food. So have a great holiday which ever one you celebrate, if you celebrate (i'm all up on the PC here :))

And I'm so so glad I made you all so happy. See you know I love ya! And I'm glad to read that I've got some new readers and reviewers. Thanks for all your support.

But bear with me, this is just the first step on a long road for Luke and Lorelai. Can't ever just easy, cuz come on, we're talking about Lorelai.

* * *

**Next morning still in Luke's**

Hearing banging downstairs, indicating the arrival of the inn customers, Lorelai slowly opens her eyes. She doesn't want to move, feeling safe wrapped in Luke's arms. She leans back into him, wanting to feel the warmth of his body surrounding her. Luke, who has already been awake for some time now just watching her sleep, now moves to look over her shoulder at her. She glances up smiling at him. "Morning beautiful," he says, leaning in for a kiss.

"Oooh, I have morning breath," she worries.

"Makes no difference to me. Waking up with you and kissing you in the morning sweetens the whole deal for me," he assures her. Lorelai grins, kissing him. She adjusts to lie on her back, using his left arm for a pillow. He moves his other arm, resting his hand on her soft belly.

"I could get used to this," Lorelai says. Luke kisses her temple, nuzzling the side of her head with his nose.

"I hope you will," Luke replies. Lorelai reaches over with her left hand and runs her fingers over the stubble on his cheek. Luke smiles in giddiness at knowing the woman he loves is lying in his arms. His hand is making circular motion on her stomach. Although he is unaware of this as he looks deeply into her bright blue eyes, both sharing their thoughts through their eyes.

"We'll never get out of here if you keep doing that," Lorelai teases. Luke glances down at his hand and winks. Lorelai giggles. "Yes, it would be great, but I'm supposed to be working."

"Sookie can take care of it."

"Breakfast, yes, but I'm still in charge. And you're supposed to be helping Sookie too," Lorelai reminds him.

"Ah yes, I forgot," he replies, both knowing that he hadn't. He leans in and kisses her. "Okay, I give in." Lorelai giggles again. "Unless you'd rather stay here?" He arches an eyebrow suggestively.

"Dirty!" Lorelai replies, right on cue. She sighs. "I'd love to, but I need to get going. I have to drive out to New Haven today." Luke looks at her questioningly. "I need to convince Rory that she's a Yale girl at heart," Lorelai explains.

"Yale? But it's supposed to be Harvard," Luke insists. Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, I wanted it to be Harvard, but Rory belongs at Yale. And hey, she'll be closer," Lorelai comments brightly. Luke doesn't seem happy with this anyways. Lorelai rubs his arm. "Don't worry. Now I need to get dressed and go downstairs because I'm sure Rory's meeting me here before she heads off to school." Reluctantly, Lorelai slowly pulls out of Luke's grasp and stands, still naked from their night together. Luke watches her as she grabs her bag and disappears into the bathroom. He sighs, knowing she's right.

Luke drags himself out of bed, quickly changing into his usual wear just as Lorelai gets out of the bathroom. "Hello there Speedy," she kids.

"Should we go down together? I mean – I don't want to surprise people…" Luke says awkwardly. Lorelai grins.

"Honey, they probably all know by now that I stayed here last night after the Hatlestads showed up. Don't worry your pretty little head. Baseball cap's over there." She points over to the floor by the bed. As Luke walks by her to get the baseball cap, Lorelai reaches out and pinches his butt.

"Hey!" Luke exclaims, not actually angry. Lorelai just winks and walks out.

Downstairs the diner is in full swing. Sookie is yelling in the back about all the breakfasts that have to be made. Many of the customers are seated around the diner in various stages of eating. Lorelai picks out Rory at the table by the kitchen and goes over to sit with her. "Is this seat taken?" Lorelai teases, before she pulls out the chair and sits down.

"Morning, Mom," Rory says. They greet each other with a kiss as Lorelai then glances around. "Sookie's really got things going. And Michel said to tell you that the fire chief would be over soon to talk to you."

"Thanks, Sweets. Did you have a good time with Lane?" Rory nods.

"Yeah, she just realized that her fake boyfriend actually wants to be her real boyfriend and she doesn't know how to tell him that she doesn't want him to be her real boyfriend, that she wants Dave to be her real boyfriend," Rory says. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"Wow, I think that's too complicated for even Days of Our Lives to figure out," Lorelai comments. Rory laughs.

"I see you survived your night with Luke," Rory notes, motioning to Luke, who has taken over his position behind the counter, passing out the meals that Sookie's making. Lorelai glances over, and tries to hide a blush as Luke glances up at her. He winks and Lorelai looks down, unable to contain the fire in her cheeks. "Mom?" Lorelai slides her eyes over to Rory, who suddenly looks shocked, but not dismayed. "Oh! You survived in more ways than one…" Lorelai can't help but to grin.

"It seems that Luke actually was okay with me staying. Even with the sharing of the bed."

"Mom! I didn't need to know that!" Rory exclaims, covering her ears. Lorelai laughs, reaching out and rubbing Rory's arm. Watching her mother's giddness, Rory's soft smile slowly turns into a grin and she crosses her arms in front of her. "So you're happy?"

"Sweetie, I couldn't be happier even if Chris O'Donnell suddenly announced he was leaving his wife," Lorelai responds. Rory raises an eyebrow.

"Wow, and you've had your eye on him for awhile."

"Yeah, saddest day of my life when Chris went on Oprah and announced that he was getting married."

"Yes, I remember it well. It was a cold winter's day and I was complaining about the gym teacher trying to make me participate and as usual you weren't listening to me." Lorelai looks at Rory with pity and rubs her arm.

"Poor baby, you have to understand, some things are more important," Lorelai says, her voice full of sympathy. Rory shakes her head, still smiling. "But you're okay with this?" Lorelai asks seriously, motioning to Luke with her head. Rory nods.

"Yeah, I am. You're happy with Luke, I can tell. It's different than it was with Chris or Max. Oooh, speaking of Max, I've gotta be getting to school!" Rory realizes, glancing at her watch. Lorelai hands Rory her keys.

"Here take the jeep, but watch out for Bambi this time, will ya?" Rory nods.

"Thanks, Mom." She kisses Lorelai on the cheek. "Have a good day, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Lorelai arches an eyebrow. Rory gives her mom a warning look and runs out. Lorelai smiles to herself, watching Rory run off to get to Chilton. She glances around at the inn customers enjoying their meals. Finally her eyes reach Luke and she watches him, engrossed in what he's doing. Something about him, just then, makes her heart skip a beat and she knows that this is right.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes**:

Is it the end? No, of course not, there's much much more. I think I have pages and pages written (mostly in my head). There will be lots more exciting Luke and Lorelai figure out how to be together, whether they should be together, what to do after they get together stuff to come. And I'm pretty sure we have not seen the last of Christopher (cuz he likes to get in the way like that), but who knows?

And here's my little secret. The Chris O'Donnell thing Lorelai and Rory talked about last chapter was actually my own personal story. I still remember the day he was on Oprah and announced he was getting married. Saddest day of my life. **Robinpoppins** When I was watching Grey's Anatomy and he showed up I seriously shrieked. I didn't know he was gonna be on the show. He's my first true love, him and his beautiful blue eyes.

**pixiechick12 **- wow you always seem to catch my mistakes ;) Let's just say that Lorelai borrowed Sookie's car or Luke's truck to go to New Haven.

Home was nice. Good to see the boyfriend. Let me tell you how annoying it is to be in a long distance relationship, especially when we used to live in the same city. Oy with the poodles already...

* * *

**Luke's Diner**

Lorelai walks in just as the last customers are paying. "I'm closing," Luke says to her.

"I can see that," Lorelai responds, sitting down on one of the stools. Luke stares at her for a second before understanding.

"Coffee while you wait?" Luke offers.

"Please." Luke grabs a cup, pours the last of the coffee in it and sets it in front of her. Lorelai drinks quietly watching Luke go about his business.

After ringing up the last customers, Luke follows them to the door, closing it behind them. He turns the sign over and then goes back to the cash register. He flips through the receipts for a bit and then puts them in the register. Then he walks in the back, bringing a mop and a bucket with him when he walks back in. Luke sets the bucket down in the middle of the floor and begins to mop. Lorelai has turned around on her stool and sits, still watching him, drinking in the coffee and the sight of Luke bent over cleaning. She puts down the cup, cocking her head, waiting to see if he's going to look up at her, but he doesn't. Lorelai presses her lips together as if she's pondering her next move.

Then she stands and walks quickly up to him, cupping his chin in her hand and pulling his lips to hers. Lorelai kisses Luke hungrily, letting her tongue run over his lower lip until he opens his mouth to her. Luke responds quickly, pressing deeper against her lips, letting his tongue caress hers, kissing her intensely until she's dizzy from lack of oxygen and pulls back. Luke quickly reaches out, dropping the mop, and grabs her elbows to keep her from collapsing on the floor. Lorelai smiles, laying a hand on his chest as she tries to clear her head, unable to open her eyes.

"What was that for?" Luke wonders. Lorelai slowly opens her eyes and gazes at him.

"I couldn't wait anymore," she replies in a deep rough voice, one that he's never heard before but he knows it turns him on. Lorelai smiles sweetly. "You remember that episode of Friends when Pheobe was dating Hank Azaria and he pushed everything off the table and set her on it and kissed her because he had to have her right then and there, it had to be in the moment? Well that's what I felt like. If you weren't so anal retentive, I would have thrown everything off the counter and taken you right then and there." Luke swallows, trying to moisten his suddenly dry throat. "And you didn't like it?" A faint smile plays on Luke's lips and Lorelai grins, knowing he did.

"It was spontaneous to say the least," Luke replies. Lorelai laughs. "Is this how it usually works for you? A date or two and then you have to have him at every moment?"

"We've never been on a date," Lorelai reminds him, arching an eyebrow.

"Right…" Luke realizes. Lorelai steps back and Luke drops his hands to his sides. "Where's Rory?"

"At home, she's 18, I think she can handle staying alone by herself. Except if Michael Myers is on the loose, of course," Lorelai quips, winking.

"Well I haven't heard anything about an insane asylum escapee on the news."

"I told her that I'd be staying here," Lorelai adds. Luke's eyes go wide. He takes a deep breath.

"You sure you want to be doing this?" Luke asks. Lorelai nods, confident as always. "I mean so soon after…"

"I'm not breakable."

"But Rory…"

"Is okay with this," Lorelai finishes.

"And you…"

"Are very much okay with this." Luke runs a hand through his hair. "Luke, I want this – us – I want it. I've wanted it for awhile, before I broke up with Chris, before the car crash, possibly even before I got engaged to Chris," Lorelai admits. Luke nods. He slowly reaches out and runs his fingers over her cheek. Lorelai closes her eyes, leaning into his hand, allowing his touch to send shivers down her spine.

"For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Annabel Lee; and the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes of the beautiful Annabel Lee," Luke murmurs, repeating a poem they had just heard at the Poe Conference, in his soft gruff voice that she's only heard at just these moments. Lorelai opens her eyes and grins.

"Poe really turns you on, huh?" Lorelai teases. Luke chuckles. He reaches back a little and plays with a few strands of her hair staring deep into Lorelai's eyes, her blue eyes pooling black with desire. Luke sees this as a reason to reach back farther, cupping the back of her head with his hand, pulling her closer to him, their lips and tongues crashing together in hungry passion. Lorelai moans against his mouth in pleasure, her hands lightly resting on his waist.

When Luke finally pulls back, gasping for breath, he knows that they've crossed the line. There will be no mopping tonight. "Do you think we should go on a date first?" Luke asks.

"Luke, you remember that we already had sex, right?" Lorelai teases. Luke draws in a loud breath, nodding.

"Yeah… yeah I remember that," Luke manages, the memory of that night still fresh in his mind, so near that it has been haunting him every waking moment since it happened. "I just don't think we should take this too fast."

"Too fast," Lorelai repeats, as if the words are foreign to her.

"Yeah, I mean, maybe we should spend time together, go bowling, you know, something, before jumping back in the sack," Luke stammers. Lorelai stares at him, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Bowling," she repeats. Luke shrugs, running his hand through his hair again. "I'm sorry are we in Pleasantville?"

"What?"

"You think that we should go back in time, pretend that the other night didn't happen or didn't matter and go bowling?" Lorelai asks, a little hint of exasperation in her voice.

"No, it's not that!" Luke responds quickly.

"Good!"

"I don't want to pretend it didn't happen."

"Good!"

"I mean what happened was great."

"What happened was amazing," Lorelai contends, the words rolling off her tongue almost seductively. She arches an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, amazing," Luke agrees.

"But you want to go bowling." Luke chuckles.

"Not bowling exactly…"

"Oh, bowling means something else?" Lorelai asks innocently.

"No, bowling is bowling, I was just…" Luke huffs in exasperation. "I just thought that I should be a gentleman and allow the lady a chance to do something a little more demure, like date before sleeping together."

"You remember I had a kid at 16, right?"

"Yes, I know that, but you probably dated him before sleeping with him," Luke responds and then winces. The idea of her and Chris or even just Chris disgusts him, now more than ever. Lorelai smiles softly, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Luke, don't think that I don't want to date, that I want this to just be a friends with benefits type of thing. You mean too much to me to do that to you. We've known each other too long and too well to even think of that," Lorelai tells Luke, trying to soothe his worries. Luke nods. "I just – all I could think about tonight was you and I don't know – right now I just had to have you – all of you – with me. Is that too much to ask?" Lorelai looks up at Luke, waiting for his response, hoping it will be positive.

Instead of responding, Luke lets go of her hand. He takes the mop over to the wall and leans it there. Then he walks over to the light switch and turns out the light. Turning to the door, he flips the lock. Then he walks past Lorelai over to the curtain, almost ignoring her as he passes her. Lorelai turns and watches, waiting to see what he's going to do.

Just as Luke opens the curtain, he stops and looks back at Lorelai and reaches out his hand to her. Lorelai grins and almost skips as she walks over to him, giving him her hand. He clasps her hand in his, letting his thumb run over her hand as he gazes her as if memorizing her beauty. Lorelai nods to him, letting Luke know she's still agreeing this. Luke nods back and leads her up the stairs to his apartment.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes:**

Hey all, check out my new oneshot **The Real Lorelai Gilmore**!

**My thoughts on the new episode (don't read if you haven't seen it yet):** So I'm starting to like LG's hair again. I think it's long but she's actually doing something with it, curling it some. I think it was just a few episodes of grossness. But I do have to say I liked it best in S5. Funny stuff again in this one, I've really liked the past few episodes, felt like old times. So weird that Lane's married. I mean I've never liked her with Zach, but overall it's crazy. I mean I remember Lane at 16 (wow and I'm talking like I'm her mother or something). And I must be behind the times because I've never actually heard of a Sickkick before. They look cool, seem like Blackerrys. And can I just comment for all those that now think Chris is awesome that his daughter is 22 and living with her boyfriend and now he suddenly has time to play Daddy and be there for Mommy. Luke would have to do a lot to make me like Chris more. Anyways, funny stuff right up until the last 5 minutes and then my heart dropped. Man is LG amazing. I totally feel for Lorelai. I mean I think April's cute and I'm not against the whole Luke having a daughter thing, I just think it could have been cleared up a lot sooner if ASP wasn't the 'lets destroy Luke and Lorelai's perfect relationship' kinda person. Lorelai's speech, I just cringed, in fact I had to hide my eyes for a moment, I can't believe she was up there for so long, I had a blanket over my head and I think I missed some of it, that's how bad I felt for her. And that last scene, words are useless. Absolutely amazing acting.

So anyways, interesting chapter for me to post so soon after this episode, but it was written a little while ago so here goes. (Guess I like the drama too)

* * *

**Stars Hallow**

Lorelai and Rory are walking on Stars Hallow's main path after the disastrous dinner with the Gilmores in celebration of Lorelai's birthday that Friday. They're walking towards Patty's studio but it isn't in view yet. "Wow, I just can't get over the Jekyll and Hyde impersonation my mother's doing," Lorelai says shaking her head in disbelief. "I mean how long ago was it that she was being the mother I always dreamed she was and then to do this 180 today."

"Well, can you consider that maybe she had a right?" Rory says. Lorelai gives Rory a hard look. "I'm just saying, maybe you shouldn't have given her back the money."

"I said I would. Rory, you have to understand how hard it was for me to be burdened to my parents. I told them that once I had the money I would give it back and I did. I'm free. Genie's finally been let out of her bedroom into the world."

"But you could have done it differently."

"Well I could have dropped it from the ceiling over their heads in a money shower like they do on The Price Is Right." Lorelai grins, wiggling her eyebrows.

"They don't do that on The Price Is Right." Lorelai ponders this and then shrugs.

"Okay, some game show then. But really, I just let them know it was appreciated and I thought I gave it back in the nicest way possible. Now can you give up on your gloomy gus impersonation and remember this is Mommy's birthday?" Lorelai gives Rory a pleading look and a smile soon forms on Rory's lips. "That's better." Lorelai puts an arm around Rory as they finally see Patty's. "Oh. My. God." Lorelai stops in her tracks.

"You like it?" Lorelai grins at her daughter.

"Are you kidding, I love it!" They hug. Lorelai looks back at the celebration and can't stop smiling. "This is the most amazing birthday ever, better than the one when you were two years old and puked green slimy stuff all over me as a present and even better than the one when you were eleven and tried to cook me breakfast in bed and almost burned down the house."

"I knew I might just be able to top that this time," Rory responds. Luke walks over, settling his arm around Lorelai's waist.

"Happy Birthday," Luke says. They kiss. Lorelai grins at him, eyes sparkling. Luke can barely take his eyes off of her, to him she looks so amazing when she's happy. But he tears his eyes away and smiles at Rory. "You did a great job."

"Thank you," Rory answers. Lane comes running over.

"Oh great, you guys are finally here. Do you want to cut your pizza Lorelai? Or is that too corny? I could start the music now instead. Did you know I picked one from every year of your life? No probably Rory hasn't told you yet. But I did and I could start it now," Lane chatters until Lorelai grabs her arm.

"Take a breath once in awhile, Six!" Lorelai exclaims. Lane stops, her mouth still open. "Breathe." Lane does, taking a slow deep breath.

"Why don't we go start the music?" Rory suggests. Lane nods. Rory flashes a smile at Lorelai and runs off with Lane.

"Here," Luke says, handing Lorelai a small envelope. She looks at him in surprise.

"Why Luke, you already did all those chores for me, you didn't have to," Lorelai says, as she opens the envelope anyway. She takes out a small piece of paper and grins. "But thank you for the year's worth of free coffee."_ Mrs. Robinson_ begins to pay in the background.

"It's the least I could do," Luke replies. He leans in and kisses her again. Lorelai reaches up and slides her fingers over Luke's cheek, as she presses for more. Finally Lorelai pulls back, resting her forehead against his.

"You know it probably was the least you could do. Coffee's cheap at your place. A year's worth of blueberry pancakes might be worth more," she comments. Lorelai smiles up at Luke.

"Yeah, but since you only eat the pancakes once a week and with the rate you drink coffee, I think for you, the coffee would actually be worth more."

"You know me too well," Lorelai teases. They turn back to watch the festivities. "This is so amazing, I can't believe Rory did this. Hey, you're still coming to her graduation, right?" Luke nods. "Good, I'll have to remember to tell Rory we need 4 tickets."

"Four?"

"Sookie, Jackson, you, me," Lorelai answers counting on her fingers.

"What about your parents?" Lorelai rolls her eyes.

"After ruining my birthday, I'd rather if Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg came to the graduation," Lorelai complains. "I can't believe that she did that tonight." Lorelai shakes her head. They hear the bells from the diner and look over that way.

"Oh, jeez, I forgot," Luke says, hitting himself on the head. Lorelai looks at him with curiosity. "Anna was bringing April by tonight," he tells her, gritting his teeth, afraid of what she'll say.

"Oh, well tell them to join the party," Lorelai says. The music changes as _Get Back_ begins. "Wow, she really did hit every year since I was born," she realizes, impressed.

"Which was only twenty five years ago."

"Yes, I was 7 when I had my daughter." Luke smiles. He glances back over at the diner and sighs. "I should really go over there and talk to them."

"Oh, well, I'll join you," Lorelai tells him.

"No, you should stay here. Rory set up this whole celebration for you," Luke says, a little uneasy. Lorelai gives him a strange look.

"And Kool and the Gang will be here when I get back." Luke sighs again. "You really don't want me to come, do you?" Lorelai crosses her arms over her chest.

"I – I haven't told them about us yet," Luke says, choosing his words carefully. "I've been calling them all week and I keep missing her. It'd just be better for April if I told her myself." Lorelai nods, trying to understand. Luke steps back, taking his arm off her waist, a little worried about her reaction. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he promises. Lorelai smiles softly.

"Okay," she agrees. But Luke hesitates in his decision to walk away. "Don't worry, I know that it's hard to tell your daughter that you're not getting together with their parent. April needs you to be truthful with her." She places a hand on either side of his face and kisses him. "Go, I'll be here." Luke nods. He winks at her and walks away. Lorelai watches him go, crossing her arms again and turning back to watch the festivities.

Lorelai saunters over to where Rory and Lane stand by the pizza. "Wow, this really is the biggest pizza in the world!" Lorelai exclaims. Rory and Lane share a look. "Should we cut it?"

"If you want," Rory answers. Lane glances over at Dave, who's manning the DJ booth and he switches over to the next year's song, _I Think I Love You_.

"I don't want to. I want to take a bath in it and sleep on it and take it home with me and have it be my friend. I'll name it Charlie and we'll exchange friendship bracelets," Lorelai tells Rory, her eyes lit up. Rory rolls her eyes and hands Lorelai a knife.

"Now no acting out Psycho here, the pizza is not Marion Crane," Rory warns Lorelai, who nods, a serious look on her face. "Okay, then, proceed." Lorelai begins to cut the pizza. "Hey, Lane, did you ever find a song for 1974?" Lane nods.

"I almost went with _Kung Fu Fighting_ but then I remembered that _Having My Baby_ was a big song that year," Lane says. Lorelai looks up at Lane, excited.

"You remembered my love for Paul Anka!" she exclaims. Rory and Lane laugh. Lorelai has cut herself a piece and hands the knife to Rory, who continues the cutting.

"Yes, I did. You went a whole month when Rory and I were in 7th grade playing his songs for us every morning before school," Lane reminds her.

"Well, you needed a little assistance on your music education," Lorelai responds, taking a bite of the pizza. "Oh Lord, this is freaking fabulous, to die for, my life can end right now, who cares if I never find out who really killed JFK."

"Well don't die yet, you still have to open my present," Rory tells her. Lorelai smiles, taking another bite. "So where's that list of songs?" Rory asks Lane, who motions for Rory to follow over to the DJ booth. They walk away as Lorelai glances up at the lit up diner. Luke has still yet to return.

Lorelai finishes her piece of pizza as she walks over to the diner and knocks on the window. Luke seems to be in deep discussion with Anna and April as he glances over at the window. He stands up from the table they're sitting at and opens the door and looks out. "Hey, sorry this is taking a little longer than I thought."

"Yeah I noticed," Lorelai says.

"I'll be out as soon as I can," Luke promises. Lorelai glances in and sees the look on April's face. She frowns, knowing she's seen that look on Rory's face before.

"Actually, can I talk to you? Then you can go inside and finish this," she requests, motioning back inside. Luke glances back inside.

"I'll be right back," Luke says quickly to April and Anna. He walks out closing the door behind him. "Okay, what's up?"

"Luke, I have a suggestion," Lorelai says. Luke seems interested. "Well Rory's graduating in a few weeks, as you know, and then we're going to spend the summer backpacking around Europe."

"I know all that Lorelai."

"I know, I'm just saying…" Lorelai sighs. "Why don't we take the summer to think this through?" Luke's eyes go wide. "Well I won't be here anyways, you could take that time to really make sure you don't want to have that whole complete package with Anna and April. I know you're going what you're going to say," Lorelai adds quickly, holding up her hand to keep him from speaking. "But I also know that it sucks to disappoint your daughter, this way at least you can truthfully tell April that you thought about it, you tried and things just aren't right for you and Anna." Luke stares at her, amazed that she's saying this. "And if I come back and you say you want the whole thing with Anna, then I'll have to be okay with it. It's only right. But you'll never know that we're right if you don't give this a chance." Luke looks down, his hands go to his hips as he thinks this over. He kicks some stones around as he ponders.

"Do you want to be with me?" Luke asks looking back at her.

"So much it hurts," Lorelai replies softly. She gives him a pleading look, trying to convince him to see her point of view. Luke nods.

"Okay," he says, seeing that she's really given him no choice. Lorelai takes his hands in hers, locking their eyes, letting him know that she's not giving up that easily. He nods, telling her that he's heard her thoughts. She reaches up and runs her hand over his stubbly cheek as if memorizing his face. Then she gives him a soft and lingering kiss, Luke's hand coming around to cup the back of her head, wanting this moment to last.

"I'll make sure to bring your graduation ticket by," she says and backs away a few steps, still looking into his eyes. Finally she turns around and walks back to the celebration hearing the music switch from _I Feel the Earth Move _to _Brandy_. Luke watches her walk away, knowing it's going to be an interesting summer.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chilton Academy Front Yard**

After the graduation, Lorelai waits with Sookie, Jackson and Luke in the back for Rory to get her things together and meet her. Emily and Richard are off talking to friends of theirs. "I'm not sure I got enough pictures," Sookie worries.

"Did you get enough of the steeple? I want to see if I could get something like that built on our house," Jackson says.

"You are not building a steeple on our roof!" Sookie responds, hitting Jackson playfully. "Besides we have to save money so Baby here can go to a fancy schmancy place like this," she adds, placing a hand on her belly.

"Well, how about we build the steeple on our house and charge admission for people to go to the top of it? That will raise enough money for Baby to go here."

"Jackson!" Sookie exclaims.

"Aw, you're destroying all of Jackson's dreams that he is Ty Pennington," Lorelai teases. Jackson glares at her.

"None of you understand my true genius!" Jackson exclaims. Sookie and Lorelai giggle. "Tell Rory congratulations, but Sookie and I have to go home to have a discussion about respect." Lorelai nods. Jackson walks off.

"How about respecting the woman carrying your child!" Sookie yells after him. Jackson doesn't respond but keeps walking. She looks over at Lorelai sadly. "I'd better go before I destroy any chance of us having money for Baby to go to college. Tell Rory congrats."

"I will," Lorelai answers, sympathetically. She squeezes Sookie's hand.

"Call us later and we'll meet you for dinner," Sookie says and then walks away. Lorelai and Luke watch her. Then they both turn quickly to face each other, banging heads in the process.

"Ow!" they both exclaim, each rubbing his or her head.

"Wow, is your head hard!" Lorelai complains.

"Sorry about that," Luke responds. Lorelai looks at him, one eye open and one eye closed, still rubbing her head.

"You going to be okay?" she asks. Luke nods. He takes her hand off her head to get a better look at her bruise, but she moves out of his way. "Hey, no, Luke," she whines. Luke huffs but lets her go. She looks up at him forlornly. "Well, I guess you'll definitely have something to remember me by while we're in Europe," Lorelai notes.

"I would have remembered you anyways," Luke responds in a gruff voice. Lorelai nods. "You sure you want to do this?" Lorelai gives him a look that tells him she doesn't want to go into this again. "Okay."

"Promise me that you're really going to be thinking things over," Lorelai pleads. Luke's look tells her that he doesn't want to do that, but he sighs.

"Yes, Lorelai, I really will think things over," he promises. Lorelai nods. She turns away from him, watching all the Chilton families, most of them perfect rich families with Dad, Mom and kid, and Lorelai looks sad, which Luke notices. "Do you ever wish things worked out with Christopher?" he asks. Lorelai gives him a stifling look. Luke grimaces and turns around looking for Rory.

"No," Lorelai says softly. Luke glances over at her, not sure he heard her correctly. "I never wanted things to work out with Christopher." She slowly looks up at him, an apologetic expression on her face.

"Hey!" Rory exclaims, suddenly standing next to Lorelai, who jumps, letting out a surprised giggle.

"Whoa, you're like Tigger today," Lorelai says, her hand flying to her heart, as she struggles to breath normally again.

"Hey Luke," Rory says. Luke's face breaks into a smile. "I'm glad you came."

"You looked great up there Rory. I really liked your speech, it was – very heartfelt," Luke says. Rory smiles.

"Yeah, it was really sweet Rory. You even got him to cry, Big Baby," Lorelai teases, winking at Luke, who smiles softly at Lorelai.

"Oh Luke, you old softy," Rory adds. Luke sighs, but not unhappily. "So Mom, I got all my things together but I was looking for Gramma and Grampa, and I can't seem to find them."

"Oh, I'm sure they're around somewhere, just look for the glow of self-righteousness," Lorelai jokes and she pretends to look around for them. Rory sighs, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, I will go look for them, you don't move," Rory warns, pointing a finger at Lorelai.

"Wait, Rory," Luke says. She pauses and looks up at him. "Sorry, I've gotta get back to the diner before Caesar serves some really questionable meat and I wanted to give you this." He hands Rory a small box. Rory looks up at him questioningly.

"Open it," Lorelai urges. Rory opens the small box revealing a small silver jewelry box. "Wow, it's beautiful," Lorelai says, in awe. Rory slowly takes it out looking at it.

"It was my grandmother's, one of the few things she brought over with her from Ireland. She gave it to my mother when she died and Liz was never a big fan of jewelry boxes," Luke explains. "There's a bracelet inside with a matching engraving." He does his little pointing thing. Rory looks surprised. She opens up the jewelry box and takes out the bracelet.

"Wow, it is beautiful. Thank you so much, Luke," Rory says, gratefully. She throws her arms around a surprised Luke. He gives in and hugs her too. He smiles uncomfortably at her, as he lets her go. Lorelai can't take the smile off her face.

"You're welcome, I'm proud of you Rory," Luke says. Rory opens her mouth to answer. "Don't – call me a softy again," he adds quickly. Rory and Lorelai share a smile. "You're going to do great things."

"Thank you Daddy Warbucks," Rory answers teasingly but also appreciative of all that Luke's done for her.

"Okay, well I'm going to get back to the diner. Come by when you get back from your scorched earth destruction of Europe," Luke says, smiling at Rory and then looking pointedly over at Lorelai. She doesn't respond.

"We will," Rory assures him, for both her and Lorelai. Luke nods. He waves, glancing at Lorelai who gives him a small smile, and walks away. Lorelai watches him walk away and he glances at back her. She nods to him, winking. Luke smiles back, feeling a little better after this exchange and walks away. Lorelai still watches him, looking a little unsure of her decision. "You okay?" Rory asks. Lorelai looks back at Rory and smiles brightly.

"Mom's cool, she's strong. And she has to be to carry 800 maps and 900 pairs of shoes across Europe so that her crazy daughter can bring an insane number of phrase books." Rory smiles. Lorelai reaches out and touches Rory's arm lightly. "Did I tell you I'm proud of you?"

"You did."

"Did I tell you your speech was wonderful?"

"You did."

"Did I tell you I couldn't be happier to have you as my beautiful intelligent daughter?"

"You did."

"Did I tell you that I'm planning on doing various reenactments of Eurotrip through out the vacation?"

"You did and I agreed as long as you don't play _Scotty Doesn't Know_ more than two times." They smile at each other and then hug. "I love you Mom."

"Love ya too, Kid." They let go. "Now go find those pretentious grandparents of yours." Rory shakes her head.

"Kay." Rory runs off. Lorelai smiles to herself. She glances back in the direction that Luke had gone when he walked away, a hint of sadness in her eyes. She purses her lips, sighing. Then she turns and follows Rory's path over to where Rory has found Richard and Emily.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes:**

Hey all, thanks again for all the reviews! I just want to again request that you don't mention spoilers in reviews because I'm spoiler free. I really really want to remain that way and just enjoy being surprised by each episode. And I don't want to have to stop reading reviews or stop updating so that I can't read the reviews until after the season is over, so please please please, don't mention spoilers. Talking about the last episode is fine, but not the next one until after Tuesday. Thanks again!

And if you haven't read it yet, please take time to peruse my new fic **Truth or Consequences**. It's done now so you won't have to wait!

Oooh and as one more side note. When I was running today, _Shadow Dancing_ came on the radio and I totally pulled a Lorelai. I probably looked really crazy doing the Lorelai dance to the song and running, but who cares, it seems necessary anytime I hear that song.

* * *

**An Outdoor Café in Brussels**

Lorelai sits at a table, her elbow on the table and leaning her chin on her hand. The large backpacks are leaning against the wall behind her. She's staring off into space. Rory walks over carrying two coffee cups, setting one down in front of Lorelai. "Here we go," Rory says, sitting down in the chair next to Lorelai.

"Did you get me decaf?" Lorelai asks. Rory looks at her in surprise.

"I thought you were kidding!" Lorelai shrugs. She traces the edge of the cup with her finger. "Are you thinking about Luke?" Lorelai sighs.

"Do you think he's thinking about me?"

"I do. I think he's sitting at home waiting for the moment you walk through the diner door. Mom, he's had feelings for you for years, one summer apart isn't going to change that," Rory assures her. Lorelai frowns, still sad. "Are you still not feeling well?"

"When wasn't I feeling well?"

"At the beginning of the trip, you weren't looking well," Rory says, concerned.

"I'm fine," Lorelai insists.

"Well then drink up, we're going to need the caffeine to get us to the hostel tonight, it's quite a few miles from here." But Lorelai still doesn't drink.

"I was right, wasn't I?" Lorelai asks. "I mean, we needed this time."

"Yes, Mom. As a child who's been through this, I know what April's dealing with. Her relationship with Luke will be a lot better if she knows that her dad and mom really don't belong together." Lorelai reaches out and rubs Rory's hand. "If you guys didn't do this, he might never actually have a relationship with her."

"Yeah, probably so." Lorelai traces her coffee cup rim again. Finally she sighs and looks up at Rory. "Hun, I have something to tell you."

"You saw Kim Clijsters when I was off getting us coffee?"

"Yeah and she and Lleyton Hewitt were snogging."

"Mom, they broke up a long time ago! He's married to someone else and they've got a kid now," Rory reminds her mother. Lorelai looks perplexed at this idea. "I promise you I'm right, it was around the time that she had that wrist surgery."

"Before she won the US Open?"

"Yeah, much before."

"Oh. Hey, do you think Jennifer Capriati will ever come back?"

"Mom! You're veering off course!"

"Yeah well I'm no Jeff Gordon. Flash Gordon maybe." Rory shakes her head as Lorelai grins, proud of herself. But after a moment, Lorelai takes a breath getting serious again. She takes Rory's hand. "Rory, yesterday, in the morning, for breakfast, I ate – an apple." Rory looks confused. "An apple," Lorelai repeats with more emphasis.

"And it was poisonous and you fell into a deep coma until Prince William came to give you a kiss?" Lorelai scoffs.

"Of course not, Prince William is way too young for me, I'm no Susan Sarandon." Rory shrugs. "Kid, you gotta let it go, Prince William's never going to date you."

"Hey, a girl can dream!" Lorelai smiles. She rubs Rory's hand thoughtfully.

"Listen, the last time I ate an apple for breakfast, of my own free will, was when I was pregnant with you." Rory's mouth drops open in surprise, but she covers.

"But that doesn't necessarily mean anything, I mean you could just have thought it was caramelized or something," Rory hedges.

"Yeah, but while I was playing sick yesterday, and you went around by yourself, I went and bought a pregnancy test," Lorelai says, leading Rory to the final truth.

"You were playing sick! I can't believe you lied to me!" Rory exclaims, feigning mistrust. Lorelai stares at Rory, waiting for her to get back on track. "Yes, you bought the thing, go on." Rory motions for Lorelai to continue.

"It turned pink."

"It turned pink?"

"Actually," Lorelai pauses chuckling to herself. "It didn't. These tests don't turn pink anymore. They have an extra line. Or a plus sign. Or it actually reads pregnant. Or there's a red dot and you have to take the time to read the directions before you can figure out the results. It's like in Morse Code or something. And then once you figure it out and you get something that's not supposed to be there because you read the directions from the wrong box, you're all confused again. And you're forced to call the company and scream at them that you're all confused and you're hopped up on hormones and they shouldn't be allowed to do it. They should form a union and all do it the same. It would only be simple. I mean it doesn't take Upton Sinclair to write a book about it before something changes." Rory stares at Lorelai in modest amusement, allowing her mother to rant away.

"You know, I highly doubt anyone's going to write a book about this," Rory says. Lorelai looks up at her daughter knowingly. "So..?"

"The test was positive. I'm pregnant."

"Really?" Rory asks.

"Really," Lorelai answers seriously.

"Really!" Rory asks again, actually excited this time.

"Let's choose a new word." Rory shrugs.

"Well this is great Mom, I mean things will definitely work out with Luke now. No worries. He'd never leave you for Anna knowing that you're pregnant," Rory says logically. Lorelai doesn't seem happy though.

"I just – I don't want that – I don't want him to be with me because I'm pregnant, you know? I wouldn't let Chris do that 18, almost 19 years ago, and I won't let Luke do that now," Lorelai explains. Rory nods. Lorelai sighs. "This is just such bad timing."

"How do you figure?"

"Well for one, Sookie's pregnant, and we're trying to open the inn together. And then you're leaving for Yale, and I don't want it to be like I'm replacing you with this kid. And Luke, things just aren't right there, we're not sure what's going on and I really don't want this to change things."

"Mom, things are going to be okay," Rory assures her, squeezing Lorelai's hand. "I'm excited to have a little sibling. Hey, this totally helps me with that dream!"

"What dream? You had a dream that I was pregnant?" Lorelai asks, confused.

"Well, I did once, but you gave birth to Snuggles, the bear from the TV commercial. No, I'm talking about your dream, the one you had while I was in DC."

"Oh, _that_ dream."

"Yeah, maybe it didn't mean anything about Dad. Maybe it was more of a forecasting dream. You're going to be happy and with Luke and carrying twins."

"Twins?" Lorelai looks frightened.

"Yeah, and I'll come home from school every weekend and tell you how fat you're getting," Rory teases.

"Twins?" Lorelai squeaks.

"Okay, maybe not twins, but I guess we won't know until we go home and you go see the doctor," Rory says. She looks up at her mother. "You want to go home now?"

"Now! No, Rory, I promised you this trip, going around Europe. We can't stop having only seen half, we've seen the 'Eur', we still have to see the 'ope', maybe that half is even better. Who knows what could happen?" Lorelai says, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, but Mom, don't you want to go home and tell Luke?" Lorelai shakes her head. "I mean it is Luke's, isn't it?" Lorelai gasps in disbelief.

"Yes, it is Luke's! Unless my name is actually Mary or something."

"Virgin Mary or Magdalene?" Lorelai frowns, considering Rory's question.

"Actually either would work in this case," Lorelai responds. She chuckles to herself. "Guess this is the easiest way to teach you about taking precautions."

"Gross!" Rory exclaims. Lorelai shrugs.

"Hey, it's my job to teach you the important stuff, even if it comes as a result of my bad decisions or my lack of thinking." Rory rolls her eyes. "Just remember, if and when you ever decide to - you know - take a moment and think of this before you forgo protection."

"Ah! Mom!" Rory shakes her head in disgust. Lorelai shrugs, tracing a finger around the rimi of her cup again. "Are you going to make it backpacking through Europe?"

"Sure, I'm – what – a month – two months – pregnant? I'll be three months at the most when I get home, not to worry. I had barely started showing at three months with you, Mom still believed I was coming out and on my way to Vassar," Lorelai explains. Rory nods.

"Okay then, it's settled," Rory says. "I'm so happy!" They hug. Lorelai finally looks happy about the whole thing. "Okay, now I'll go get you a decaf coffee." Rory stands. But Lorelai quickly grabs the cup.

"It's okay, if the caffeine gives the baby two heads, it won't be the worst thing I'm going to do to it," Lorelai considers.

"That's the truth," Rory agrees.

"Hey!" Lorelai exclaims, hitting Rory's arm playfully. Rory sits back down. Lorelai looks over at her smiling. "This is going to be great." She looks away, just watching the people around her, biting her lower lip. "Absolutely perfect."


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes:**

Hmmm... I'm not sure exactly why I recieved so few reviews for the last chapter. I would have expected more of a reaction... Stay with me here, there is an overall theme forming. And please please review!

Just a 2 comments on **last night's episode **(I bolded it so don't read if you haven't seen it yet):

I hate Anna. Nothing more to say on that, but I can't imagine a mother being like that. My mom was overprotective but I was April's age when I hung out with my dad's fiance, now my step-mom. My mom just had to trust my dad's judgement, nothing she could do about it. He's my dad and if he thought that my stepmom was someone it was okay for me to be alone with then that was fine. Luke trusts Lorelai the same way . (I can't believe I just compared Luke and Lorelai's relationship to that of my dad and stepmom). But even more so, Anna needs to trust Luke, her whole 'well he's new in April's life thing' should have been followed up by the response, yeah he's only new in her life because you hid his daughter from him for 12 years! Ug. I can understand the reasons for being protective, but not being a hypocrite.

And now for my Lauren Graham comment for the day. Wow. She looked absolutely amazing in that episode. So beautiful in every scene (not that I'm a fan of that shirt she was wearing in the first scene) but still wow. So I'm officially done complaining about her hair and her clothes because man she looked gorgeous.

* * *

**Sookie's Garage**

Lorelai and Rory finished their trip backpacking around Europe. They got home late as they did on the show and worried Babette. The next day they went to pass out the gifts around town and they first went to Sookie's, where they again had the discussion over whether Jackson should know the sex of the baby. Sookie and Lorelai went into the garage where Lorelai found out Sookie's baby is going to be a boy and currently they're sitting in the garage talking as Rory hangs with Jackson in the house pretending to be living in the 1950s.

"So you guys had a good time in Europe?" Sookie asks. Lorelai nods smiling. She glances around at all the things Sookie's bought for the baby. "Did you spend a lot of time thinking about things?" Lorelai glances over at her.

"Things?"

"Yeah things… Luke…" Sookie watches Lorelai's response, but Lorelai keeps her poker face.

"A little," Lorelai says vaguely.

"Well obviously not enough to spoil your time with Rory. You guys seem really happy. And it looks like you really liked the food over there." Lorelai gives her a confused look. "I mean you put on a few pounds, not bad weight. Lorelai, you look healthy, filled out." Lorelai glances down, afraid that she's showing more than she realized. But she's not.

"I am. I feel good." Lorelai half-smiles. "I knew that I would." Sookie giggles. Lorelai bites her lip, knowing she can't keep it in much longer. "Does it really show?" Sookie looks up at Lorelai, rubbing a hand over her belly.

"Does what show, Sweetie?"

"The weight gain, is it really noticeable?" Lorelai worries. Sookie looks concerned, since Lorelai's never really cared that deeply about gaining a few pounds in the past.

"No, but I've known you forever. It's mostly in your face anyways. It looks fine, and you'll lose it in no time knowing you and your crazy insane metabolism. I swear you must have a second stomach on the moon where all the food goes after you eat it so you don't gain weight." Lorelai laughs.

"No, Sook, I'm not worried about losing the weight. I'm just – it's just – " Lorelai makes a face.

"You were trying out for the Miss American pageant next month?"

"I didn't know that was something you could just try out for."

"I don't really know, I guess you have to be Miss Connecticut first," Sookie considers. "Hey, did you know only one Miss Connecticut has won Miss America?" Lorelai shakes her head. "You could be the second," Sookie says brightly, touching Lorelai's knee.

"I'm not sure they let women who got knocked up at 16 enter the competition," Lorelai says. Sookie shrugs. Lorelai looks down, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, her hand moving over her belly. Sookie's not paying attention, staring off into space still thinking about the pagent. "Sookie, the weight thing, I'm pregnant," Lorelai finally admits. Sookie gasps, covering her mouth.

"Oh my God! Really?" Sookie exclaims, a shocked expression on her face. Lorelai blushes.

"Yes, really."

"Really!"

"What is with that word lately?" Lorelai shakes her head in amazement.

"Oh my God, Lorelai! That is so fabulous! I mean you're finally going to have everything, the whole package. And with Luke." Sookie is overcome with emotion. "I'm so happy for you." She watches Lorelai's unsure reaction. "You don't seem to feel the same, is Luke not happy about this?" Lorelai looks down at her hand that's covering her still mostly flat belly.

"I – I haven't told him," Lorelai informs her. Sookie's mouth drops open.

"Why? You want to be with him. He'll definitely pick you over Anna if he knows you're pregnant."

"Yeah, that's why. I don't want him to pick me over Anna just because he got me knocked up. I didn't want that from Chris 18 years ago. I'm not a hypocrite. But unlike Chris, I actually do want to be with Luke. So I want to know if he really wants to be with me before I tell him about the baby," Lorelai explains as she had to Rory. Sookie nods, understanding.

"He'll pick you," Sookie assures Lorelai, touching her knee again. "Of course he'll choose you. He's always wanted to be with you." Lorelai shrugs.

"It's up to him. I gave him the option to choose whomever he wants," Lorelai admits, biting her lower lip nervously.

"It'll be you, I have a feeling about these things."

"You're Miss Cleo now?" Sookie nods. Lorelai grins. "Well, I hope you're right." Lorelai sighs.

"He loves you Lorelai, now all you have to decide is, if you love him," Sookie tells her. Lorelai nods, thinking.

"You know, a few years ago, when Dean told Rory he loved her, I had a talk with Rory. I said that she has to be able to tell someone she loves him, when it's right. And she asked me if I was ready to tell someone that when that moment happens," Lorelai says, distantly, still remembering the conversation word for word. Sookie looks at Lorelai curiously, rubbing a hand over her belly.

"And are you ready?" Sookie asks, when Lorelai doesn't finish. Lorelai stops staring off into space and looks over at Sookie.

"I don't know. I wasn't ready with Max, because I never loved him, I wanted to love him though. I wasn't ready with Christopher, because I never loved him either, and I knew if I did tell him I would be lying."

"But now things are different?" Sookie wonders.

"I don't know," Lorelai admits. She smiles at Sookie, who is feeling the baby kick. "Isn't that a fabulous feeling?"

"It is," Sookie agrees. She grins at Lorelai. "And it won't be long before you feel it from your own Nick or Nora."

"Phoebe or Phoebo," Lorelai adds. Sookie nods. Lorelai stands. "Well I'd better get Rory and head over to Luke's, no more putting this off," Lorelai says tentatively. She helps Sookie into a standing position. "I'm so scared of what he's going to say," Lorelai admits.

"Well don't be," Sookie insists. Lorelai nods. They share a one arm hug. "Okay, well help me close the garage and we'll go get our other halves."


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes**:

Maybe I should be mean and prolong the summer a little longer... Just kidding, I wouldn't do that to you! I worked really hard at finishing this quickly because of all the reviews I recieved. All the reviews were much appreciated so here's the chapter you've all been waiting for!

In response to the review from **chmelms **(actually I think it was for my other fic), I am planning a longer fic for the summer. **When Hearts Collide **will probably go through the summer but I've been working on another longer one, not as long as this one but longer than a oneshot. I don't want to start posting it here until after season 6 is over though because I want to know where Luke and Lorelai are at the end of the season. But it's good, I'm really having fun writing it. And it's not the one I mentioned a long time ago called **Generations **because it's not a JJ fic and I wanted to write a summerlong fic with lots of Luke and Lorelai. So I'm not sure if I'm going to do any more short fics until this summer because I want to work on this new one and keep up the work on **When Heart Collide**. I hope you'll like it when I start posting it!

**roywthepoodles **and **chmelms **- Thanks for the info. I noticed that when my email box suddenly filled up today. Wow. And I guess I should have realized that when I wasn't being alerted about other fics.

**bluedaisy05 **- I think I was talking about the shirt in the scene with Sookie. I think it looked like the one in Welcome To The Dollhouse, or at least it looked that terrible.

**RobinPoppins **- Yes I noticed that too. My question is then did his dad die only 12 years ago or did Luke date her for a really long time or were they friends for a long time before dating? I too was yelling at Luke to remind Anna that Lorelai's his fiance not girlfriend as well as remind her that she kept April from him for 12 years.

**LorLukealways **- Christopher and Lorelai broke up in February if that answers your question.

**coffeebean2007 **- Thanks for the compliments! About Anna, you know, the first few times I saw her I thought I would like her, it seemed in other episodes that they were making her out to be a lot like Lorelai. But this time, even just her first moment dropping April off at the diner, something about her made me dislike her. It wasn't until later that I knew why...

And on to chapter 38...

* * *

**Outside Luke's Diner**

Lorelai and Rory are standing outside Luke's. Lorelai glances in the window and grimaces. "He looks busy," Lorelai says decidedly. Rory furrows her eyebrows and looks in the window.

"He does not look busy," Rory maintains. Lorelai pouts. She looks back in the window again.

"He looks like he's not in a good mood," Lorelai says. Rory looks at her like she's crazy.

"He never looks like he's in a good mood," Rory comments. Lorelai sighs, looking down and crossing her arms over her chest. Rory reaches out and rubs her arm. "Mom, you just gotta go in and rip off that band aid." Lorelai gives her a scared look.

"But I don't wanna!" Lorelai whines.

"Mom, if you never go in there, you'll never know what he's going to say, you'll never know how happy you could be, and you'll never be able to drink a decent cup of coffee again." Lorelai glances back in the window.

"Are you coming with me?"

"No, this is something you need to do alone. Besides, I have to go give Lane her present." Lorelai bites her lower lip, a little unsure. "Go!" Rory presses, pushing her mother towards the door. She walks away. Lorelai takes a deep breath, summoning all her courage before opening the door to walk inside the diner.

Luke looks up, hearing the bells ring. He smiles at Lorelai, who gives him a nervous smile back. He goes back to fixing the toaster as she walks up to the counter. "Hey," she says.

"Hello there," Luke replies.

"Miss me?" Lorelai flirts, tucking a hand under her chin and she settles herself onto a stool.

"Well the town was a lot quieter," Luke answers, still playing with the toaster. Lorelai watches him quietly for a moment as he fiddles around.

"And another one bites the dust," Lorelai teases. Luke looks up at her sighing.

"Yeah, Queen really knew what they were talking about." Lorelai nods, folding her arms on the counter in front of her.

"You know one day, that toaster's just going to get up and run away with how much you attack it."

"I wouldn't have to if it wouldn't break every morning."

"Aw, poor Toasty," Lorelai says, reaching out and petting the toaster. "Don't worry, Auntie Lorelai loves you." Luke gives her a look. She smiles and takes her hand off the toaster.

"Coffee?" he grunts.

"Yes!" she replies, excited. Luke puts a cup in front of her and pours the coffee in. Lorelai lifts the cup with both hands a satisfied look on her face as she drinks it. "Ah, I've missed this. We couldn't find coffee like this in Europe." Lorelai licks her lips, eyes closed as she sets the cup down. She opens her eyes and winks at Luke, who looks at her strangely.

"You couldn't find good coffee in Europe? The continent most well known for good coffee after South America? Didn't you go to Italy?"

"Yeah, but there's no Luke's in Italy," Lorelai contends. Luke shakes his head smiling. She reaches out and touches his hand. "There was no Luke in Italy." Luke stares down at her hand and then looks up at her, no expression on his face. He swallows.

"So," he begins, clearing his throat. "Is there anything left of Europe?" Lorelai feigns hurt.

"Of course! I mean, despite all the time we spent stalking Bono in England, we're not wanted for too many international crimes," Lorelai insists. Luke chuckles.

"Well let me know if you guys need a character witness," Luke says.

"Why, you'll vouch for me?"

"No, I'll be Rory's character witness, I'll explain that you drove her to madness with your incessant talking and insane ideas," Luke explains. Lorelai pouts.

"I'll bet your summer couldn't even compare," Lorelai hedges.

"I'll give you that. Flipping burgers and waiting on annoying customers doesn't make for an enjoyable summer," Luke concurs. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"That was your summer?" Lorelai asks, not actually surprised. "That wasn't any different than the winter." Luke shrugs.

"It was hotter," he figures.

"Well, probably cuz you're still wearing that flannel. I'll bet you're miserable underneath all those clothes." Luke raises an eyebrow.

"What would you know about that?"

"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaims, an eyebrow raised. Luke nods smiling. He goes back to fixing the toaster. Lorelai's expression gets serious as she watches him while drinking the rest of her coffee. "Oh hey, I brought you back a gift." She hands him a small tote bag.

"You didn't have to."

"Of course we did, we couldn't go traipsing all across Europe without bringing presents back for our friends." Luke nods. He reaches into the bag and takes out the jam with a bow stuck on top of it.

"Jam," Luke says, staring at it.

"Actually it's Fruits de la Terre," Lorelai corrects him. Luke looks over at her.

"So it is."

"That's French, it came all the way from Paris." Lorelai widens her eyes, hoping he believes her. He puts it down on the counter behind him.

"Thank you."

"That's it?"

"It's just jam, Lorelai."

"Actually, it's special jam! It was made by a blind jam maker." Luke raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Really? Blind?"

"Yeah, blind and orphaned. She was found, left for dead and raised by poor jam makers in the mountains of…"

"Paris?" Lorelai gives him a look.

"Yeah, exactly, the mountains of Paris. And her whole life she dreamed of making the perfect strawberry jam. And… You're not believing a word of this are you?" Luke chuckles.

"Not a chance." Lorelai pouts. "That wasn't even your best attempt." Lorelai sighs.

"We couldn't find anything that would be perfect for you," she explains.

"Well it was a nice gesture." Luke picks the screwdriver back up and goes back to the toaster. Lorelai swallows, her throat suddenly dry, as she knows this is her only chance.

"Did you do a lot of thinking over the summer?" Lorelai asks carefully. Luke puts down his screwdriver, looking up at her with one eye.

"Anna," he grunts.

"No, Luke, I'm Lorelai, remember me, the coffee addict, I've been mixed up with Natalie Wood and Jenna Elfman but never – " Luke cuts her off grabbing her hand that's lying flat on the counter.

"No – I – I meant that – Anna – I chose Anna," Luke says, with a blank expression on his face. Lorelai stares at him, slowly letting his words sink in. Her expression turns to one of chagrin as she struggles to maintain her composure.

"Oh," she whispers, biting her lower lip. She looks up at him. "Really?" He shakes his head.

"No, Lorelai, I choose you. I chose you a long time ago." Lorelai mouth drops open in surprise. Luke chuckles. "You're not the only one who can make a joke Lorelai."

"Yeah, but I don't joke about these kind of things," Lorelai whines, pushing his arm lightly. Then she pouts.

"Sorry," Luke apologizes, sort of smiling at her and a smile slowly forms across her face. "You had to know Lorelai, it was always you. I don't know why you ever thought it would be otherwise. I sat down with Anna and we talked things over, it was never going to work out with us. And we explained things to April, who was a little upset, but was mature enough to understand. And she says to tell you to come over anytime to play house." Lorelai smirks.

"So you're still Eddie Murphy-ing the kid care," Lorelai figures. Luke gives her a soft smile as he takes her hand, running his thumb over her soft skin thoughtfully.

"I'm still here," Luke assures her. She nods, as their eyes lock. Slowly he leans towards her, as she does the same, their lips capturing in a soft, sweet kiss.

"I'm all here too," she whispers, looking deep into his eyes, their faces barely separated, noses touching. She leans in, closing the distance between them again and they kiss slowly, lingering. Lorelai leans back, a smile plastered across her face, her eyes sparkling. Luke swallows, taken with her, completely removed from his surroundings.

"Should we celebrate?" he asks in a deep gruff voice. Lorelai grins.

"I would love to, but I can't." She purses her lips, a little sad that she can't. "Rory and I have so much to get done before she leaves for Yale on Saturday. She's probably waiting for me." There's a knock on the window between Luke's and the ice cream shoppe. They look over and see Rory standing the window, holding the poster of her as the ice cream queen. "And there she is," Lorelai says, motioning towards her. Rory points at the poster, and Lorelai's mouth drops open in shock. "I can't believe it!" Luke grimaces.

"It's Taylor, did you expect anything different?" Lorelai gives him a look and then sighs.

"Well I'd better go," Lorelai says sadly. She stands. "Hope you like the jam, the original label said it was good."

"Did it even come from Europe?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"Jackson's cupboard," she admits. Luke smiles. He reaches over the counter and takes her hand in his.

"Well I appreciate the thought. And I'll come help you load the truck tomorrow and we can make plans for another time?" Lorelai nods, playing with his fingers mindlessly.

"Okay." She leans in and kisses him and then walks towards the door. Luke watches her walk away. She glances back as she opens the door and winks. Luke smiles and she walks out.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes:**

Ah, grrrr, with the website being down, I'm sure I missed out on some awesome reviews for the last chapter. Oh well, much more to come. And I can't believe I scared so many of you with my 'Anna' line, you know I'm a JaveJunkie through and through. Oh and **Robinpoppins **comment about Luke sticking his head in a vat of boiling grease cracked me up. And also a special thanks to **smilyGGfan**, your review was awesome, always good to get perspecitive from someone reading all the chapters for the first time!

Anyways, I'm still missing FND. We had one (?) this year that I can remember. That sucks. Hopefully DR can get a bunch in next year to make up for our lack of FNDs this year.

* * *

**Friday Night Dinner**

"Every week! Every week you drive almost 10 miles above the speed limit until we get to Hartford and then when we're about 3 streets away from here you go like 10 miles an hour. And I think that's getting a little old," Rory says. Lorelai pouts. "Hey, I'm just saying, there's a point when you've got to just give in and figure, they're going to be mad if we're late so we might as well be on time."

"When did you get so smart?" Lorelai loops her arm through Rory's as they walk to the front door of the Gilmore mansion

"I'm not, Yale just thinks I am."

"Ah, well I guess the grandparents are just paying them hush money." Lorelai reaches in front of Rory and rings the doorbell.

"You know, the sooner we're done here, the sooner we can get home to the Godfather marathon," Rory reminds her mother.

"And Biscotti!" Lorelai adds as Emily opens the door.

"There she is, our Yale darling," Emily says proudly.

"The newest bulldog in our family," Richard adds, walking up behind Emily. Lorelai gives Rory a strange look.

"They're not calling me a dog are they?" Lorelai asks.

"The Yale mascot is the bulldog," Rory informs her. Lorelai nods, understanding.

"Just checking." They look back at Richard and Emily, Lorelai smiling a fake smile. "Hi Mom, Dad, you know it's not polite to greet guests at the door." Emily glares at Lorelai.

"You've been listening to his mother too much," Emily snaps. Lorelai shrugs. "Well come in, we have some champagne in the living room." They all walk into the living room, gathering in the center of the living room as Richard hands each of them a champagne glass and pours the champagne in each one.

Raising his glass, Richard turns to Rory and says, "For years I have dreamed of the day when I would be able to say that my granddaughter is going to Yale. I would wish you good luck, but I'm sure you won't need it. Have fun Rory, you're going to love it." Emily smiles at Rory, who seems pleased.

"To Rory," Lorelai says, raising her glass. The rest of the family follows each drinking a little of the champagne, except Lorelai who pretends to drink. Emily notices this but says nothing.

"Are you all ready to move in tomorrow?" Richard asks.

"Yeah, I finished the shopping and packing at home while Mom and Luke packed up his truck. I think I'm all ready," Rory says.

"Did you like your trip around Europe?" Emily asks. Lorelai and Rory share a look.

"Yeah, it was nice. We got to see so many things and Mom tried coffee from every country," Rory answers.

"Irish coffee was the best!" Lorelai exclaims with a wink. The maid walks in.

"Mrs. Gilmore, dinner is ready," the maid says.

"Thank you Celia," Emily says. The maid walks away. Emily and Lorelai follow Richard and Rory. "Did you try all the desserts in every country too?" Emily asks, glancing at Lorelai, who wrinkles her nose.

"Mom," Lorelai whines, aggravated.

"You look a little more filled out, I just wish you would have gotten Rory to do the same, she's so thin," Emily says. Lorelai gives her mother a look. Rory shares a glance with her mother as Lorelai walks to the other side of the table. Emily pauses at her chair, staring at Lorelai, who looks a little self-conscious. "Oh my God, you're pregnant!" Emily realizes. Lorelai mouth drops open.

"What!" Lorelai exclaims. She shares a frightened glance with Rory. Richard, who is the only one who has sat down so far, stares at Lorelai.

"Lorelai!" Emily exclaims. Lorelai looks down, defeated.

"Yes, Mom." Lorelai sits down in her chair, her head in her hands. She looks over at Emily. "How on earth did you know?"

"That's the look you gave me when I asked about why you were gaining weight 20 years ago," Emily explains.

"Not quite 20 years ago," Lorelai mumbles. Rory raises an eyebrow, but settles herself in her chair.

"You're pregnant?" Emily asks in disbelief, the idea now fully coming clear to her. "I can't believe it. You're pregnant. Is it Christopher's?" Lorelai snorts. Emily shoots her a look.

"No, Mom, Christopher and I broke up in February, I think it might be obvious by now. Although you could probably just tell people I was getting fat again."

"Then whose is it?" Lorelai shrugs, not really wanting to have this conversation. She shoots at look at Rory, who is staring down at her plate, trying as hard as she can not be involved. "You don't know who the father is?" Emily asks in disbelief.

"Mom," Lorelai whines. "Of course I know who the father is, I'm not on Maury Povich." Emily stares at Lorelai.

"Well?" Emily finally says.

"What?"

"Who is the father?" Emily asks, slowly.

"Now I know how Hester Prynne felt," Lorelai mutters.

"She wasn't a real person," Rory comments. Lorelai shrugs.

"No, because in reality her name was Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai responds. Lorelai glances up at Emily.

"Lorelai, you will answer my question," Emily demands. Lorelai takes a deep breath.

"Luke. Luke is the father," Lorelai answers. Then she suddenly dissolves into giggles.

"Lorelai! This is a serious discussion!" Richard yells, banging his hand on the table.

"I know – it's just that – it's just" Lorelai can't finish as she continues laughing. Rory watches Lorelai, trying to hide a smile.

"Lorelai! Stop that! Richard, do something!" Emily shrieks. Lorelai finally gets herself under control, her face still bright red from laughing. "I don't understand you Lorelai, how on earth was that funny?"

"Luke, I am your father. Luke is the father," Lorelai says, impersonating James Earl Jones's deep voice. Rory giggles. Emily shakes her head. Lorelai and Rory share a smile as Lorelai glances up at Emily's disapproving face. Lorelai instantly swallows and regains her composure.

"Are you and Luke together?" Emily asks.

"Kind of, I guess." She takes a deep breath. "I mean, yeah, we are." Emily raises an eyebrow, but for once says nothing. She finally pulls out her chair and sits down. Lorelai glances between her parents, not knowing what to say next.

"Fine, then you'll bring him next week," Emily insists.

"Um… next week? Wow, that's soon. I don't know if he'll be able to do that on such short notice."

"If he really wants to be with you, he'll make an effort to be here and meet your parents."

"But Mom, you've already met Luke, twice if I can remember," Lorelai reminds her mother.

"Yes, but your father hasn't and now he's going to be our son-in-law and the father of our second grandchild," Emily responds. Lorelai bites her lower lip. "Oh don't tell me that you're not getting married Lorelai."

"No, Mom, we're not getting married. At least, not right now, not because of the baby." Lorelai blinks. "Wow, major de ja vue."

"Lorelai, I know this seemed all right to you when you were 16 but think of the example you're setting for your daughter," Richard says calmly. Lorelai looks over at him.

"Yeah, compared to the example I set when I had her at 16?" Lorelai replies, throwing a hand in the air, looking at Richard like he's crazy. Richard looks over at Emily angrily.

"Fine, we can put off that discussion until next week," Emily snaps. She picks up her fork and begins to eat basically stabbing at her food in anger. Lorelai takes a deep breath.

"Mom, Dad, if Luke comes next week, we will not be having that discussion. I'm not 16 anymore, I think I've proved that I can raise a child and not be married. I mean hey, if Camryn Manheim can do it, why can't I?" Emily picks up her wine glass, looking at Richard over the rim. Lorelai looks over at Rory and then back at Emily. "And, I need you to make the best attempt to not bring up the baby. I haven't told Luke yet, and I'm not sure when I will."

"Lorelai, you're not going to keep that figure forever, he's going to realize it eventually," Emily reminds her. Lorelai shrugs.

"I know," Loreali says quietly.

"Well then you have a week to tell him," Emily says simply.

"Yeah, like it's that easy," Lorelai mumbles. "I'd better start watching Dr. Phil." She rolls her eyes sighing. Rory and Lorelai share a look and begin eating. Lorelai feels a touch on her knee and reaches under the table to squeeze Rory's hand. Rory gives her a sympathetic look and then lets go and continues eating. The rest of the meal continues in silence as everyone is enraptured with his or her own thoughts.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes:**

After reading all the reviews I think that you're starting to see what I see about Lorelai, that her insecurities are what drives her. Which is a good and a bad thing all in one. And I mean that applies both to this fic and in the actual show.

**And now for my thoughts on last night's episode (again don't read if you haven't seen it! and don't worry there's no spoilers in it): **First of all, to me it was a pretty lame episode, nothing really happened, kinda boring through most parts, and the Sookie/Jackson thing was dragged out a bit. But, on to real comments: Finally FND! They totally heard me! I couldn't have hated it if I wanted to because I've been begging for it for so long! Ug, Christopher, go away already, yeah I know he wasn't in the episode but they kept bringing him up the whole time. Can I repeat that you don't count as a father if you start trying to be a father when your kid's 21? I don't get what Emily sees in him, I mean I like him as a person but not as a father or a mate for Lorelai, get it through your skulls, she doesn't love him. Although then, after going on about Christopher being wonderful, Emily went and bought the house so I was totally confused why she kept bringing him up. And can I just say that until they showed the picture of the house I was totally against it because Lorelai loves her house and it's the place she raised Rory. But that new house. It's beautiful. It's gorgeous. I can almost see Luke and Lorelai and their kids there. It's so beautiful that I want that house! And to jump back to the beginning of the episode, how did we go from Luke and Lorelai in the last episode to her hiding from him? I mean sure, Anna was a... let's just call her a brat... but Luke never said he agreed with Anna. That made no sense to me. And what's that going to solve? I'm mad at you or something so I don't want to see you, what are you 6 years old? I mean come on Lorelai, you want to marry him but yet you don't want to see him, makes no sense. And I get the whole Lorelai feeling like the wedding's not going to happen but to me that's because neither has mentioned it to the other in awihle. Just say, hey Luke, you getting any closer to wanting to set that date, after all you've gotten close with your kid and you threw her a party and she calls you dad and she likes me and Anna doesn't want me around her until we're married, so added bonus. Ug. And I don't even want to talk about the promo, I'm just going to stew over it for a week, thankfully I have a busy week/weekend ahead of me, if I didn't I might not be able to stay spoiler free for a whole week.

Hmmm... that was more than I planned on writing. So anyways, here's Luke being the Luke we know and love. Please don't take the last episode out on my chapter!

* * *

**Luke's Diner**

Luke is at a table talking to a customer when Lorelai walks in, back from her night at Yale. She jingles the keys at Luke, not actually needing the extra noise to get his attention. He walks over to Lorelai and tries to grab the keys out of her hand, but she's too quick for him. Lorelai arches an eyebrow, almost seductively. Luke smiles, putting his hands on his hips. "You gotta be quick to compete with me," Lorelai teases. "I'm Gail Devers and you're no Michael Johnson." Luke grimaces.

"Can I have my keys?" Luke asks, ignoring her little joke. Lorelai shakes her head.

"Not without the magic word." Luke glares at her, but Lorelai just arches an eyebrow waiting. Luke sighs.

"Can I have my keys please?" Lorelai grins, handing him the keys.

"Fo sheez," Lorelai rhymes. Luke shakes his head in amazement.

"So, is Rory okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, poor girl, she was just having a hard time adjusted to life without Mama. But she'll be okay, she's strong." Luke nods. He walks over to the side of the counter and Lorelai follows behind him. "She said to tell you thanks."

"It's no problem. As long as she's settled and happy."

"She is. Like a bug in a rug."

"What are you Maya Angelou today?" Lorelai giggles. "Well that's good that Rory's settled. You want some coffee?" Lorelai almost says yes, but then hesitates. She glances around.

"Can I talk to you upstairs, just for a sec?" Lorelai asks, cautiously. Luke looks concerned but nods.

"Yeah sure, of course." He reaches out, touching her elbow lightly. "You okay?" he asks, looking directly into her eyes. She smiles softly, appreciating his concern.

"Yeah, the house is a little quiet without Rory, but that's not why I want to talk to you." Luke nods. He takes her hand and leads her though the curtain and up the stairs.

As they walk inside the apartment, Lorelai looks a little pale and nervous. If Luke notices, he doesn't say anything, just motions towards the table and chairs in the center of the room. They walk over and sit down next to each other at the table. "Can I get a glass of water?" she asks. Luke nods. He walks over to the fridge and looks inside.

"You want a beer?" Lorelai looks like she wants to but smiles nervously.

"Water is fine, thanks." Luke looks at her strangely but grabs a bottle of water and hands it to her. He grabs a beer for himself and sits back down at the table. Lorelai opens the bottle and drinks some water, biding her time. She keeps an eye on Luke as she closes the bottle and crosses her arms on the table in front of her. "There's two things I want to discuss with you." Luke nods. After opening the beer, he puts one hand over one of her arms, comfortingly. "So you know about Friday Night Dinner?" Luke smiles like she's crazy, but realizes that she's waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, I think I remember you walking in the diner every Friday night begging for donuts and pie and ranting like a meth addict." Lorelai smiles, but she still seems quite serious.

"My parents want you to come to dinner next Friday," Lorelai tells him.

"Okay."

"Okay? I'm not sure you heard me correctly. Helena Cassadine beckoning you to her lair."

"Well, you said we're not Luke and Laura, so we'll be all right," Luke considers. Lorelai doesn't look satisfied. Luke rubs her arm. "Lorelai, it was going to have to happen sometime if we're going to be together."

"Do you remember what happened to Jess when he met my mother?"

"Yeah, wasn't that the day the swan beaked him?" Lorelai looks at him like he's crazy.

"Swan? Rory said it had something to do with a football. Jess got attacked by something that Tchaikovsky used as a subject for a ballet?" Lorelai smirks.

"Hey, I can promise you, those were some mean swans!" Luke insists.

"That's like saying that was an ugly Vera Wang or a short Spielberg film." Luke gives her a look that tells her to let it go. Lorelai moves her hand to cover his that is still on her arm.

"Jess said that your mother was great," Luke says, going back to the original subject.

"Sure, because Satan can't fight with Hitler," Lorelai responds, rolling her eyes.

"Lorelai," Luke warns.

"Well, Rory will be there on Friday, so you'll have her on your side as well."

"Do we need sides?" Lorelai raises an eyebrow. She squeezes his hand tightly.

"Just remember you said that a week from now," she says. Luke nods. He drinks some of the beer, forgetting that they're not done. Lorelai takes another deep breath, preparing herself. "Luke." She reaches out and moves his chin so that he's looking directly into her eyes. "I'm pregnant." He's frozen. Lorelai watches him, waiting for him to say something. "And it's yours," she adds. Luke lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Lorelai looks down, afraid of what's coming.

"Wow, Lorelai," he says breathlessly. He shakes his head, a small smile slowly forming on his face. Then he looks at her curiously. "But we were only together, what, 2 or 3 times."

"Two or three, you're not sure?"

"I just wasn't sure if we were counting the time in the truck."

"Oh, we were definitely together that time," Lorelai says, arching an eyebrow. Luke can't help but smile. "And you know, it only takes once, I learned that the hard way."

"Yes, and now apparently have I." Lorelai grimaces. Luke grasps Lorelai's shoulders, just smiling at her for a moment, running his hands up and down her arms as he processes. Lorelai stares into his eyes, waiting for his actual response, a little unsure about what's to come. Then Luke pulls her to his chest and hugging her to him. He kisses the side of her head. "I'm so happy Lorelai. You. A baby. This is amazing." Lorelai smiles to herself, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him tightly. Both of them reveling in the moment.

"Rory's happy about it too," she finally says. Luke lets her go.

"How long have you known?" Lorelai looks away. Luke watches her face as she tries to hide the truth. She shrugs.

"I found out in Europe," she whispers. Biting her lip, she looks back at him. "I – I didn't want to tell you right away." Lorelai sighs. "I wanted you to want to be with me because I'm me."

"And you thought I would stay with Anna to have a family and you didn't want me to choose you just because you could also give me a family, you wanted me to pick you in spite of that fact," Luke finishes her statement. Lorelai looks down at her hands in her lap, knowing that he's said it exactly. "Hey." He reaches out and runs his fingers over her cheek forcing Lorelai to look back up at him. "I chose you. I'll always choose you Lorelai." She swallows and then leans in and kisses him. "So we'll go to your parents's on Friday, have our first date on Saturday and we'll get a doctor's appointment for the next week. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," she says, smiling as she kisses him again. "Can we skip visiting Hades?" He shakes his head. Lorelai shrugs. "Okay." Lorelai's pager goes off and she looks at it. "Oh, I'd better go," she says standing. "Tom's at the inn."

"Tom?"

"My boy on the side," Lorelai teases.

"You're Mary Louise?"

"Drew! Mary Louise had AIDS."

"Oh right, Drew's only problem was the boyfriend who beat her up and tried to kill her." The room gets quiet as they share a tense look.

"Okay, I'm Mary Louise then," Lorelai decides after a moment. Luke smiles.

"You look more like her anyways." Lorelai laughs. Luke stands and pulls Lorelai back to him, hugging her close. "Everything's going to be okay." Lorelai closes her eyes, letting herself feel the moment.

"I don't want to get married," Lorelai says against his chest,. Luke looks down at her.

"Ever? Or just not right now? Because I don't think we should get married just because of the baby, it's not right for us, but maybe someday," Luke considers. Lorelai can't keep from smiling, hearing the words she wanted to hear. She tilts her head up and kisses him.

"You're amazing," she whispers. "Okay, gotta go."

"Yeah, your contractor's waiting." Lorelai smiles. She turns to leave. Luke puts his hands on her shoulders as he follows her out. "Come by later for some decaf." Lorelai laughs. "I don't want to know that you haven't been drinking decaf."


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes/Rants:**

Okay so I have a whole new theory, it's probably just me being crazy but here goes. So my other favorite show, The West Wing, is ending this year in its 7th season and for anyone who's ever seen the show, they will agree that the 6th season was one of the worst, if not the worst. And it made me think about the similarities, assuming that the 7th season is GGs last year. Both shows lost their writer/creater of the show before the last season (WW-Aaron Sorkin, GG-ASP), leaving someone else to pick up after a huge season finale. But for me, the 7th season of WW has been fantastic, like they were trying to really make it awesome in its last season. The LL-like couple, the one everyone's wanted together, Donna and Josh, is finally together. I don't know, it just brings me hope. That even if things are sucky for Luke and Lorelai now, that they'll get it together in the 7th season, I mean they belong together. It brings me hope that next season will be a much more awesome season than the 6th, just like the last season was for WW. I think I'm just rambling now, if that was confusing I apologize, it sounded better in my head..

Here's another thought. Is there any GG fan that's actually happy with anything on this show anymore? I mean even Christopher/Lorelai people must hate this because more than anything, Lorelai's hurting and that sucks. Logan lovers and haters alike must be hating whatever that storyline that's going on with him, which has me so bored I basically zone out during those scenes. Sure, I guess Lane/Zach fans are happy, but are there many of those? I mean people who watch GG must basically be a fan of Lorelai or Rory at least and both of them are pretty much hitting rock bottom with no way out right now. Even last year with the big rift, Rory still had her 'blissful' relationship with Logan and Lorelai was proposing to Luke. You know Luke's comment about scorched earth a few chapters back, well that's what the Ps are leaving us with, scorched earth, everything destroyed, complete destruction of their creation. Great legacy, thanks guys. I loved everything you did until this moment.

**End Rant. Now for a few shout outs.**

**scubaluver**: I'm not sure why it bothers you that she hasn't been to the doctor's yet either. But she will, I believe two chapters from now, see the doctor.

**squiddrude**: I don't know why but your review just made me smile. I'm glad you're loving it.

**dayzy27**: Well any review is a good review, even if it's your first, so thank you. I'm really glad you're liking the story and I appreciate the compliments!

**sapphirestar820:** Everything you said is true, L/L belong together! I thank you for being my loyal reader throughout my story and reviewing!**  
**

**And for everyone else**: I'm glad that you're reading fics, especially this one, as your catharsis. Writing good LL stories is mine, it's how I've gotten out my frustrations. I can't imagine what this summer's going to bring.

* * *

**Friday Night Dinner**

Luke pulls up in the truck and turns off the car. Lorelai, who is, of course, sitting next to him, doesn't move to get out. They hear a car pull up behind them. It's Rory. Lorelai smiles, excited to see Rory, who she hasn't seen in a week, and almost jumps out of the car. "Sweetie! Baby! Honey! It's Mommy!" Lorelai shouts, running over to Rory. "Don't tell me you've forgotten me already?" Lorelai pouts.

"I'm sorry, you are…?" Rory feigns ignorance.

"The one who gave you life and would just as quickly take it away if you're not nice." Rory laughs. They hug. "You look the same just as I always remembered!"

"Mom, it's only been a week," Rory reminds her. They walk over to Luke, still arm in arm. "Hey Luke." Luke and Rory hug. "You ready to enter the twilight zone?" Luke suddenly looks unsure of himself.

"You know, I wasn't nervous because your mother tends to exaggerate, but when you say that, I'm suddenly uneasy about this whole thing," Luke responds. Rory squeezes his arm.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to that feeling Bucko," Rory teases. She and Lorelai share a knowing look. Lorelai reaches out and takes Luke's hand in hers, squeezing his as all three turn to face the door with trepidation.

"You ring it," Lorelai says to Rory.

"No, you," Rory answers.

"Somebody ring it!" Luke exclaims, looking over at Rory and Lorelai who are still staring at the door.

"You do it," Lorelai tells him. Luke glances over at Rory.

"I'm not doing it!" Rory insists. All three huff, shoving their hands in their pockets.

Everyone is quiet for a moment. "Lorelai!" Luke exclaims.

"Lu-uke!" Lorelai yells back.

But suddenly the door opens revealing Emily Gilmore. "I saw you standing out there, don't you use doorbells anymore, Lorelai?" Emily snaps.

"Huh, no Mom, I gave them up for lent," Lorelai responds. Emily rolls her eyes but steps aside to let her family in. Lorelai takes Luke's hand again as they walk in. Luke glances around, amazed at the house Lorelai grew up in, and even more astounded by the fact Lorelai is the person she is now having grown up there.

"Rory, how was your first week at Yale?" Emily asks, completely ignoring Luke and Lorelai, who is watching Luke observe her former home. Luke looks back at Lorelai and smiles nervously. Lorelai squeezes his hand to let him know that they're in it together.

"It was great Gramma, I tried out a lot of classes and I think I'm going to really be happy with my choices. They look tough but fascinating," Rory says.

"Good, you wouldn't want to just take the easy courses, that would be no fun," Emily says. "I'm sure your grandfather is dying to hear all about your first week, why don't you go on into the living room?" Rory nods. With a glance back at her mom, she walks away. Emily turns back to Luke and Lorelai, forcing a smile. "Luke, welcome to our home." Lorelai glares at Emily.

"Thank you, Mrs. Gilmore, it's nice of you to have me," Luke responds, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Oh, call me Emily, please," Emily insists. She looks over at Lorelai. "Hello Lorelai."

"Hi Mom."

"Well let's go into the living room, your father's waiting." With that Emily turns around and walks into the living room.

"For such a small woman, she sure can be scary," Luke says.

"You sure you want to stay?" Lorelai asks.

"Yes, I have to do this. I might as well see it through. But let me tell you, I'm suddenly getting your Helena Cassadine reference."

"Elizabeth Taylor or Constance Towers?"

"I think both of them were pretty scary." Lorelai smiles. She leans in and kisses him. "And that's why I'm staying," Luke murmurs. Lorelai kisses him again and then pulls him with her into the living room.

"Hi Dad," Lorelai says to Richard as she and Luke walk in the room. Rory is sitting on the couch and Emily is sitting on the chair next to her. Richard looks over at them from the minibar.

"Hello Lorelai. This must be Luke," Richard says, reaching his hand out to Luke.

"Yes, Luke Danes, Mr. Gilmore, it's nice to meet you." They shake hands. "You have a lovely house."

"Well, don't compliment me on that, it was all Emily's doing." Richard looks over his shoulder at Emily, smiling. Emily looks pleased.

"Thank you Luke," Emily says. Luke nods, sharing a look with Lorelai.

"What can I get you to drink, Luke?" Richard asks. Luke looks unsure at what to say. "You a scotch man? Christopher was always a scotch man." Lorelai glares at him, her face hardening. Emily, surprisingly enough, doesn't look pleased either. Richard swallows, realizing that he shouldn't be complimenting Christopher after what he did.

"Do you have beer?" Luke asks, trying to break the tension in the room. Richard looks back at the minibar, as if he doesn't know the answer to Luke's question.

"Yes, we have some nice beer, all the way from Amsterdam," Richard answers, recovering.

"That will be fine thanks."

"Lorelai, wine or martini?" Richard asks. Lorelai stares at him, waiting for him to realize but he doesn't. Lorelai sighs.

"Just water, thanks," she says quietly, remembering that Richard has never really been a father to her. Richard hands Luke the beer and Lorelai the water. Lorelai and Luke walk over to the couch across from Rory and sit down, Lorelai leaning against Luke as he puts his arm around her.

"So Luke, how's the diner business?" Emily asks sweetly. Luke glances over at Lorelai for help, but she's staring down at the ground, having left the conversation a long time ago, still glowering over Richard's actions. Not knowing how to help her and deal with the Gilmores, Luke decides to concentrate one on thing at a time.

"The diner's going well. The summer brought a lot of visitors to Stars Hallow, so it brought me a lot of business," Luke says while gently rubbing Lorelai's arm.

"Oh I didn't realize that it was such a tourist town," Richard comments, sitting down in the chair next to Emily.

"Oh it is, especially during the summer. But we have a lot of festivals that also seem to bring people in, Mr. Gilmore. That's why Lorelai's inn was so busy and why her new inn is going to do so well," Luke says. He glances over at Lorelai, who gives him an appreciative look, but she still seems out of it. Luke looks over at Rory for help.

"And do you think you'll be able to provide for a child based on what you make in your little restaurant?" Richard asks.

"Luke's diner is the most well known place to eat in Stars Hallow," Rory reports. But Richard ignores her comment, still waiting for an answer from Luke

"I've put away a little bit of money for the future, but I have my own daughter to provide for still," Luke says. Emily raises an eyebrow, glancing over at Lorelai.

"He has a daughter?" Emily asks, with distaste.

"Yes, April. She's smart, like Rory," Lorelai states. The maid walks in.

"Ma'am, dinner is ready," she says. Lorelai breathes a sigh of relief. The maid walks out.

"Well, I suppose we can head into the dining room," Emily says. She stands and Richard follows her into the dining room. Lorelai, Luke and Rory stand as well.

"You still doing okay Luke?" Rory asks, concerned. Luke nods, swallowing.

"I think I've sweated through my shirt," Luke admits. Rory touches his arm and walks into the dining room. Luke looks over at Lorelai. "You doing okay?" Lorelai nods. "I mean, if this is too stressful, we can leave."

"Luke, I'm a master at dealing with stress. Remember I've been attending Tea with Mussolini for a few years now. You're the novice," Lorelai comments. Luke nods. He takes her hand and they walk to their seats in the dining room.

Lorelai looks down at the food in front of her and even though she feel slightly nauseous she says, "Wow, Mom, smells good." Emily nods, picking at her food. Lorelai swallows, taking a drink of water. "Wow, I haven't heard a room this quiet since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied the existance of the Holocaust." Richard and Emily share a look.

"So, Luke, you and Lorelai aren't going to get married now that you're having a baby together?" Emily asks, still using her sickly sweet voice. Lorelai shakes her head, stabbing at her food. Luke clears his throat.

"Um, no, Mrs. Gilmore – uh – Emily, we decided we weren't ready for marriage," Luke stammers.

"But you are ready to raise a child together?" Richard asks. Luke suddenly realizes he's caught.

"Well, we didn't exactly plan on having a baby right now," Luke tries to explain. Lorelai and Rory are just slowly eating and drinking, having learned long ago when to stay out of the conversation.

"Don't you believe in taking responsibility for your actions, Luke?" Richard asks. Luke nods, gulping down some water.

"Yes, sir – Richard – uh – Mr. Gilmore, yes I do. But we discussed it and we just don't think marriage is right for us right now."

"Well it's wonderful that you can come to these conclusions together. I just hope your child understands when it grows up without parents together," Emily says simply. Lorelai glares at her, finally deciding to step in.

"Mom! Look at Rory, don't you think that she turned out just fine having one parent! She's happy. She's going to Yale! She's perfect! Now, Luke and I may have decided not to get married at this moment, but that's for us to decide, we don't need marriage pushed on us. We'll decide when it's right for us! We're having a baby! You're getting a second grandchild and until two seconds ago I may have actually let you see him or her! And then you just open your mouth and just destroy any hope I had that you had learned something from June Cleaver. I wish for one second you would realize that I've grown up, I'm not 16 anymore, you can't make decisions for me anymore!" Luke lays a hand on Lorelai's knee, letting her know he's with her. She closes her eyes, pressing her lips together, trying to contain herself.

"Stress," Luke whispers in her ear, quietly reminding her that stress isn't good for the baby.

"Are you finished?" Emily snaps back. Lorelai rolls her eyes. "I certainly hope you raise this child correctly, Luke, so it doesn't have her mouth."

Lorelai flies to her feet faster than Luke could have expected. "Stop it! Just stop it! Don't you realize that I'm trying my best to deal with the fact that my daughter just moved out of my house and I'm out of work and trying to put an inn together with a partner who is in her 7th month of pregnancy and I'm unexpectedly pregnant myself? Can't you ever just be happy for the good things that happen and give me room to figure things out for myself? Can't you give it a rest for a night instead of berating me in front of my daughter and the man I'm dating! Can you ever just listen to the Beatles and let it be!" Lorelai screams and then flounces out of the room. Emily and Richard share a look. Rory stands and silently follows her mother out.

Luke stands, a little in shock. "Thank you for dinner, it was…" Luke pauses trying to think of the correct word, but is unable to come up with one. "Well, I should go drive Lorelai home." He turns to walk out the door but then pauses and turns back. "You know, she loves you. If she didn't, she wouldn't have given you so many chances. Maybe you should just try giving her one. It's not just your money she's needed." With that, Luke leaves. There is silence between the Gilmores.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes:**

This chapter was pretty easy to write so I'm almost done with the next one. So here's to hoping I'm in a good enough mood come Wednesday morning to post it... You know, I'm guessing I'm going to have to have the tissues ready. I've noticed that I only cry in season finales where LG cries (2,3,5) so I'm guessing, considering the promo, that I'm going to cry. Note to self: take makeup off before watching GG on Tuesday. Less than 48 hours to go, I have so many different ideas of what could happen, why do I feel nervous?

**LLfreak8285 **- I never knew that ASP had said that. As I've said before, I really do like what she's done with GGs, even this season, actually I loved a lot of the 6th season, even the rift because the acting and everything was just so good. Just like you, I like April, I think she's cute, probably why I put her in this story and most stories I've written. But I just want to make clear, I'm not bashing ASP, I mean seriously she's awesome, I'm just wishing things were different, that Luke wasn't having a midlife crisis.

**CharmedOne7498 **- Such a compliment! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like the story.

**SmileyGGfan **- Actually Lorelai's line about giving it up for lent is one of my own lines I say all the time. I guess I have to consider that I put a lot of myself into Lorelai in this story.

And for everyone who commented about Luke's last line: I love Luke. I really do, even through his stupid midlife crisis he's gone though this season. And he's always there for Lorelai, he always has been. Also, I am planning on coming back to this, as well as other loose ends I've left. So many different threads to weave together...

* * *

**La Dolce Vita  
**

Lorelai and Luke walk up to the restaurant, hand in hand. Lorelai's wearing a red spaghetti strap dress with an empire waist that barely reveals that she's three months pregnant. Luke's in the black sweater and pants that Lorelai bought him years before. As they get near the door, Luke stops, making Lorelai pause with him. She looks up at him curiously. "Are you sure you want to go in?" Luke asks.

"Luke, you said dinner, so I didn't eat today, now I'm hungry and you're asking me if I want to go in and eat?"

"You didn't eat? You ate at the diner this morning with Rory," Luke reminds her.

"Yeah, but I didn't eat my pre-dinner snack," Lorelai explains.

"Ah." Luke nods. "I just thought, if you were still upset, we could just go back to your place and relax." Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, we're having a baby and we've never even been on a real first date. You promised me dinner. You brought me here, lead on boyfriend," Lorelai responds, pushing Luke towards the door. Luke chuckles as he grabs her hand, pulling her after him into the restaurant.

Luke walks up to the maitre'd and check in his reservation and tells them to tell Tony that he's there. Lorelai smiles curiously. "Tony's a friend of mine from school," Luke explains. Lorelai raises an eyebrow, but says nothing. A tall man with dark hair in a suit walks over.

"Luke!" Tony calls. They share a manly hug. "When I got your call I wondered for a second if you settled down and got yourself a wife." Tony looks over at Lorelai and winks. Lorelai glances over at Luke, who settles an arm around her waist.

"Tony, this is my girlfriend, Lorelai." Tony reaches out his hand to Lorelai and she delicately shakes his hand.

"Luke and I go way back. I even dated his sister," Tony tells her. Luke chuckles.

"You did not," Luke reponds. He shakes his head at Tony, smiling, and Lorelai can see how close the two guys really are. "Tony is the reason that I turned Dad's store into a diner," Luke tells Lorelai. The two men share a look.

"I had always planned on going into restaurant management and Luke was going to be the chief chef at my place," Tony explains. "The night after his father's funeral I found him in the store. He said he wanted to go into the business with me but at the same time he wanted to do something with his dad's store." Tony motions for Luke to finish the story.

"So, Tony reminded me that I never liked cooking high class cuisine and suggested I open a little place in my dad's store and then we thought up the idea of the diner. He helped me get the place together and he helped me with the opening, before getting this place together," Luke explains to Lorelai. She nods. "So every once in awhile I like to come here as a thank you." Lorelai looks over at Tony, smiling.

"Well thank you from me as well. If it hadn't been for the diner, Luke and I might never have met," Lorelai says. She looks up at Luke, who is looking back at her, eyes smiling, and kisses him.

"Just call me Yenta," Tony jokes. "Come on, I'll show you to your table." He motions for them for follow him. Luke moves his hand from Lorelai's waist to her hand as he follows her to the table. Tony pulls out a chair for Lorelai, but Luke shakes his head at him.

"You trying hone in on my territory?" Luke teases. Tony puts his hands in the air as he steps back from the chair. Luke motions for Lorelai to sit and she does.

"Gentlemen, please, I'm not the Rhineland," Lorelai says. Luke shakes his head at her as he pushes her chair in.

"I'll come by later," Tony promises and walks away. Luke sits down in the chair across from Lorelai, who raises an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Luke asks.

"I'm just amazed to find you in a place like this. It doesn't seem like a normal restaurant for a hermit," Lorelai teases.

"Well, I don't normally eat here," Luke admits. Lorelai nods. "But I always planned on taking you here on our first date." Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"You knew that eventually we would have a first date? Who are you, Jeane Dixon?" Luke chuckles.

"No, I just, anytime I thought about where I would take you on a first date, this was the only place that came to mind," Luke says. "You like diner food as a daily thing but I know you can't possibly want diner food on a date."

"You think you know me that well?" Lorelai challenges.

"I know you like your coffee so strong it could kill a rat. I know you like to eat as much crappy food as you can during meals where vegetables are served so that you're too full to eat the good food. And I know you like to be in control of the conversation." Lorelai shrugs taking a piece of bread out of the basket set in front of them.

"That doesn't prove anything, you could learn all that after the first day I stopped in the diner," Lorelai responds. Luke sits back, folding his hands on the table.

"You love winter and not just for the snow, even though you love the smell of snow, but because it's all your own. It's quiet and cozy. It makes you feel at peace with the world and with yourself. You love going out and painting the town but would still be perfectly happy curled up on your couch in comfy clothes in front of a really bad movie and lots of junk food, because it's easier and you feel at home in your own skin without getting all dolled up. You pride yourself on your independence, not only from your parents, but from all things. You're an individual and dislike the idea that you may be like anyone else, that's why you don't hide that you had a daughter at sixteen and also because you couldn't care less what other people think of you. Your parents are the exception to that rule. Deep down you love them and all you ever wanted was for them to accept you for an individual and for the fact that you have a better life than you could have dreamed of. That leads me into my final thought. You love life and you live yours to its fullest. You believe that you have because you have raised an amazing daughter all on your own, you work hard at your job and created one of the best known inns in Connecticut and you are admired by those who know you. But I also know you would give it all up in a heartbeat for Rory." Lorelai stares at him in awe. She swallows the bite of bread in her mouth. Luke reaches across the table and takes her hand. "I know you Lorelai. I know you're the amazing, beautiful, fascinating woman sitting across from me and I'm so glad to be sharing this table, this night, this part of your life with you." Lorelai's mouth has dropped open in amazement. They both lean towards each other, their lips touching softly at first and then passionately as if they had never kissed before.

"You're amazing too, Luke," she whispers between kisses. He smiles and sits back. She blushes.

"Would you like to dance?" Lorelai's eyes light up.

"There's dancing?" Luke nods, recalling that he always knew she would love dancing. He stands and walks over to her holding out her hand.

"If you don't mind waiting to eat for a moment," he adds. Lorelai stares up at him.

"The bread will satiate me for now," she responds, putting her hand in his as he helps her up. They walk down the stairs into a dance room, quietly, both just feeling the warmth of their hands and fingers intertwined.

Luke pulls her into her arms as the song, _When Hearts Collide_ by Red Wanting Blue begins. "I didn't know you could dance," Lorelai whispers breathlessly. Luke grins.

"Actually I'm the reason there was dancing at this place. When Tony and I were in high school, Liz loved watching those old Fred and Ginger movies. It just amazed us how Fred could get Ginger every time and Tony figured it must have been the dancing. So our junior year, I signed us and our girlfriends at the time, up for a ballroom dancing class."

"And was there anyone in the class under the age of 50?" Lorelai teases.

"Not really," Luke admits. "But Tony loved it, he said if a woman knew you could dance she would be yours in a heartbeat." Lorelai winks. She leans into him, so close she can rest her chin on his shoulder.

"I always knew there was something hidden under that flannel shirt and baseball cap," she whispers in his ear. Luke smiles.

"I think you already found that out considering…"

"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaims. Luke chuckles, knowing he led her right to that. She leans back so she can look at him. "What I mean is there's more to you than a gruff dinerman. You're a family man, I knew that. But you have heart, a golden heart. You could stop trying to hide that sometime."

"You think you know me so well," Luke teases, using Lorelai's phrase. They kiss, soft and slow, letting their lips meld together as the music continues.

_When hearts collide like fireflies lost in a shooting star shower_

_I would chase the sunset west to keep the day alive one more hour_

_But I'm eaten alive by the butterflies and the petals and daisies as I _

_Pace beneath the hair hanging from Rapunzel's tower_

As the music comes to an end, Lorelai has laid her head on Luke's shoulder, her face nuzzling his neck, her eyes closed. Luke rests his cheek against her head, feeling the soft curls of her hair against his skin. His eyes are open but his look is distant. When the song stops, Luke clears his throat. "Do you want to keep dancing?" Lorelai smiles.

"Actually, I'd love to eat," she answers, eyes sparkling. Luke laughs.

"Okay." He takes her hand and leads her back to the table, where their meals are being set out. Lorelai raises her eyebrows in surprise. "You've been eating in my diner for years, I know what you like to eat."

After Luke pushes in her chair, Lorelai lifts up the cover over her meal to reveal a giant piece of lasagna and a pile of spaghetti marinara. Luke has the same. "Can I ask you a question?" Luke asks.

"Shoot."

"Did you ever think about this? That one day you might be at dinner like this with me, that you might be dancing with me. Did you ever imagine that?" Luke asks, hopeful that he wasn't alone in this. Lorelai looks down, thinking this over. She looks back up at him, cocking her head to the side.

"The moment I met you, I was taken with you," she says. Luke swallows but allows her continue. "You don't know how many times I thought of giving in, of kissing you, of reaching out and touching you. But I'm still in shock. We're actually here, we're actually doing this." She smiles. "And I couldn't be happier."

"And you're doing okay?" Lorelai frowns, arching an eyebrow. "With what your parents said?" Lorelai shrugs.

"I have to be. They're like that Lincoln statue in DC. They'll never move, they'll never change. They're made of marble. Same expression. Same thing every time." She shakes her head. "And I'll never understand them. And they'll never understand me." She reaches out and touches his hand. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry they treated you like that. Just know I don't agree with anything they said." Luke nods. "You're one of the best things that has ever happened to me. You. Rory. And little Jack or Jackie." Luke raises an eyebrow. "Amos or Andy?"

"Lorelai, those are both male names."

"Fine, George or Martha?"

"Okay, you're going to have to let me name the baby." Lorelai laughs and Luke joins in as they continue their meal.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes**:

So I get that fluff is not my thing. I do my best, but it seems the chapters with drama are more well liked, judging by the number of reviews for the last chapter. But, well, it was necessary to finally explain the title of the story as well as the fact that it would be ridiculous for Lorelai and Luke to have a baby without ever doing coupley kind of things. There's still going to be a few more chapters of fluff before I get to anything big.

By the way, I'm not a doctor yet and I've never had a kid so try to by annoyed if I don't get all the details right here. I'm trying my best. So just figure that the story is more important than getting the medical facts right.

And for those that commented on Tony's restaurant: yes I loved Sniffy's. I love Maisy and Buddy but as **LLfreak8285 **pointed out, that's how it was done on the show. This isn't the show and I'm not ASP or whoever wrote WitS. So, I did it my way, and that way I can use Tony later if I want. Besides I always figured that Luke knew people in SH other than his sister and her friends and his parents when he was growing up.

**scubalover**: Ah the dancing. I love them dancing. I love watching them dance. I could go on and on... but you get the picture. Just figure this probably isn't the only time I'm going to have them dance because I love Luke and Lorelai dancing.

**So here's my little spiel on the season finale:** I think I'm crazy... I mean, I was more annoyed with everything last week and the week before and the beginning of the episode when Lorelai wasn't talking to Luke, than I am now. I mean they talked, they actually talked. And, though I'm not sure they heard what each other said, they still got it out of their systems. And she said it, finally, she told him she loved him. She does, we all know that, but she finally said it. And, while in the end she walked away, she never said 'it's over'. Yeah, the stupid 'now or never line' but I'm not sure she really meant that, or if it was ever actually answered. And just a note, she never took off that ring. (Although you couldn't see her hand in the morning). Really I'm chalking it all up to one bad night, we all have those, and she probably got really drunk and she was going out of her mind and it happened. She's not going to be with Chris. She doesn't love Chris. She said that. And I know that she wants to get married, but I also know she wouldn't marry someone she doesn't love. That's why she didn't marry Max. And even if they do that whole stupid, soap opera, who's the daddy storyline, I still think she won't marry Chris. She didn't marry him when she got pregnant with Rory. So that's it. I mean the look on her face said, "oh shit what did I do?". It said a lot of things, that she regretted the night before, that she didn't want to be with Chris. And can I just say this, what kind of a person is Christopher? I mean, I thought he was all right, not a good father or the guy for Lorelai, but at least a good person. But seriously, to sleep with a woman who's wearing an engagment ring, and if it was broken off which i'm not sure that it was, it had just happened! That's called taking advantage of the situation. She didn't want to be alone, so hold her and talk to her, be a friend, don't think with your junk for once in your life! And as for Luke, I think that Luke's scared shitless right now, and hopefully he'll just go talk to Anna, talk to April, and figure things out so he doesn't lose the woman he loves. I think losing Lorelai would kill him. I mean he was calling her and searching for her for days, he was so worried. He may have been going through a midlife crisis right, now but he wanted to discuss the wedding, maybe if Lorelai had given him a chance they would have sat down and hammered out a few things, but she was just not having a good night and he needed more time to process than she allowed him. One last thing, at least for now, I thought it was interesting as did most of you probably that Lorelai was in the same position at the beginning as at the end: like at the beginning she was rethinking Luke and at the end she was rethinking Christopher. So in the long run, it may take a few episodes, but I don't predict Luke and Lorelai being separated for that long come next year.She said he's the only man she's ever loved. She said she loved him. That just makes me giddy, I know I'm supposed to be upset, but I'm not... weird. Maybe that will come later.. :**-)**

* * *

**Doctor's Office**

Lorelai and Luke are sitting in chairs in the waiting room. Luke looks incredibly uncomfortable and Lorelai just looks nervous. He glances over at her. "What are you so worried about? You've done this before," Luke asks.

"Yeah but last time I did this I was too worried about the fact that my parents were yelling at me and the fact that I might not get to go to prom or the Van Halen concert." Luke chuckles, putting an arm around Lorelai, pulling her closer to him.

A nurse walks out. "Mr. and Mrs. Danes?" she asks. Luke and Lorelai share a look and then stand.

"Um, it's Ms. Gilmore, we're not married," Lorelai says, as they follow the nurse into the back. The nurse looks back at her form.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. It's been crazy here today. Have you had a pregnancy test done?"

"Um, not a real one, just one of those, you know, store bought ones but, don't I look pregnant?" Lorelai asks, waving her hands over her filled out body. The nurse shakes her head.

"I need you to take a pregnancy test." She hands Lorelai a cup. "The bathroom's right there." She points.

"Here take my things," Lorelai says to Luke handing him her purse and coat. Luke looks at the nurse nervously as he follows her into the patient room.

"Is there anything I can do?" Luke inquires. The nurse glances at him and smirks.

"Hun, your part is already done."

"Yeah, I got that. Then 9 years later they just show up and…" Luke shoves his hands in his pockets, walking around the room. "Do you have kids?" he asks the nurse. She looks up at him from the chart she's writing on.

"Yes, I have a son, he's four."

"Nice." Luke goes back to pacing.

"Is this your first, Mr. Danes?" she asks. He looks unsure.

"Yeah, I mean, this is the first time I'm seeing it through from this point. I have a daughter, April, she's ten. But this time I want it to be different, better, I want to be there from the moment we know it's an it until the day I die. I love my daughter and Lorelai's daughter and I can't imagine my life without them, but I didn't know you could love a child before it's born," Luke rambles. The nurse smiles.

"All first time parents say that. Does your daughter visit you of her own accord?" Luke nods, running a hand through his hair. "Then you're doing something right. She loves you and I think she appreciates the fact that you are there for her despite missing the beginning. You're going to make a great Dad, you already do."

"He does what?" Lorelai asks walking in the room.

"I was just saying I think he's a good father," the nurse says. Lorelai smiles.

"Yes, for April and for Rory. He's the closest thing my daughter ever had to a father," Lorelai says, watching Luke's expression the whole time she says this. Luke gives her a grateful look.

"Well, I will go and check the results and Dr. Ridenour will be here in a moment, if you could change into that gown while you wait." She points and leaves. Lorelai picks up the gown, wrinkling her nose.

"I'm so glad we don't live in Siberia," Lorelai comments. As she changes into the gown, Luke wanders around glancing at the diplomas and pictures on the wall. "This is so much better than being here with my parents, I think I actually felt like I was in Siberia then." Luke chuckles, glancing back at her as she climbs onto the examination table.

"I haven't told April yet," Luke admits. Lorelai raises an eyebrow. He sighs and walks over to her. "I didn't know what to tell her. I didn't know how to tell her." He takes Lorelai's hand, rubbing it between his.

"Is she still annoyed that you're not with Anna?" Luke shakes his head. Lorelai laughs. "Luke! Then she'll just be happy to have a little sibling!" Luke looks unsure. "Babe, you're doing great. We'll get her together soon with Rory and we'll sit down and have a family talk like they had in every episode of Full House."

There's a knock on the door and Dr. Ridenour walks in. "Hello there, Ms. Gilmore," the doctor says.

"Lorelai, please." Dr. Ridenour nods.

"Well Lorelai, Luke, it looks like you're going to be having a baby. From what you wrote down here as to your last menstrual cycle, you should be due on February 21st. Now today, let's check your HGH levels and do an ultrasound to check things out. Okay?' Dr. Ridenour says.

"Sounds good," Lorelai answers. Luke clears his throat, raising his hand. "What are you doing?" she whispers to him, smirking. "We're not in eighth grade." Luke slowly, timidly puts down his hand. Dr. Ridenour smiles.

"Don't worry Luke, you're not the first new daddy we've had. What can I help you with?" Dr. Ridenour asks.

"Um, what is HGH?"

"It stands for human growth hormone. We're hoping your wife's levels are good, low levels can indicate a need for amniocentesis to look for mental abnormalities. It's a complicated and procedure that we'd rather not do because once in awhile it can damage the baby. So we check the HGH levels, which can be done with a simple blood stick in order to rule out the need for the procedure. At Lorelai's age, the levels should be good about 80 percent of the time but getting close to 40 would greatly decrease those percentages," Dr. Ridenour explains.

"Tell that to Geena Davis. She had twins at 48 and the next month took the oath of office," Lorelai quips. Dr. Ridenour smiles, comfortingly and pats Luke's arm.

"I'm sure there's no need to worry. Now let's get a couple pictures of your baby." Lorelai lies down and reaches out for Luke's hand. He quickly acquiesces to her request, his hand squeezing hers tightly. "This is going to feel a little cold."

"Don't worry, I'm a pro at this," Lorelai jokes. Dr. Ridenour smiles, squirting the jelly on Lorelai's abdomen. She picks up the scope, moving it smoothly over Lorelai's skin until she finds what she's looking for.

"Well, that's surprising…" Dr. Ridenour mumbles. Lorelai's eyes widen.

"What? Surprise? Why surprising?" Dr. Ridenour smiles.

"Lorelai, you're having twins." Lorelai's mouth drops open. Luke squints, staring at the ultrasound, trying to see what the doctor's seeing. Dr. Ridenour outlines the two forms with her finger. "Right there and there. This one is a girl and that one with three legs, that's a boy."

"My… my boy has three legs?" Lorelai manages. The doctor stares at her. Lorelai blushes and smiles. "Got it." She suddenly brightens and looks over at Luke, who is in awe, staring at the picture on the screen. "Twins, Luke. Just like in my dream." He looks at her strangely. "The one from… um… you know… I always dreamed about having twins." Luke doesn't seem any less confused by this explanation.

"Really?" he asks. Lorelai shrugs.

"Everything looks normal otherwise. I'll go get the video and pictures that have been made," Dr. Ridenour says and walks out. Luke leans in and kisses Lorelai. Both stare at the frozen picture on the screen in awe.

"Twins," Luke grunts. Lorelai glances over at him, smiling. He takes a deep breath nodding. "So how do you feel about that?"

"Well, at least I'll have some news to surprise Rory with," Lorelai realizes. Luke chuckles. "George and Martha."

"I'm still naming them." Lorelai laughs. "So we'll tell April together? And Rory?" Lorelai nods. Luke seems a little queasy about this. She runs her thumb over his hand, in comfort.


	44. Chapter 44

**More comments on season finale, some review responses and other various and sundry items: **

**Okay so another thing about the last episode after finally getting to watch it a second time...** I think it's strange that my two favorite characters from the finale were Emily and Mitchum, the characters I normally love to hate. Seriously, something is wrong there. Emily's just been so amazing the past few episodes and was absolutely hilarious the whole time and Mitchum was so right in what he said to Rory on the elevator. Can I also add that it was also odd that I ended up liking Rory more than Lorelai, especially because until last night I still hadn't forgiven Rory for the after affects of last season's finale? Amazing, but true. And I think I kinda liked Logan at the end, I think I kind of, almost, finally got the whole Rory and Logan thing. I can't believe I just wrote that because I've hated him and them together since he first appeared. The weirdest part of the whole thing is that my least favorite characters of the episode were Luke, Lorelai and Christopher. (Okay Christopher, not so odd, but normally I'm all right with him.) I'm so confused. My head is spinning. So I'll end with this... I totally cracked up at Lorelai's 'weapons of mass destruction line'.

**LLfreak8285 **- No, Lorelai never told Luke about the dream. On the show she told him when she stayed over after the inn caught fire but in my fic Luke and Lorelai were too busy with other things to discuss a silly old dream. ;)

**Robinpoppins **- You know I love you guys! But I'm totally with you on the finale, yes what she said needed to be said, but I think she probably could have given him a minute or two to process it, I mean, she even had to propose twice and how long did it take him to think things through when they were on the verge of breaking up in S5. Does she not remember that pushing him that time broke them up? And I'm totally with you on L/C, because I've always like Christopher and they had amazing chem until last episode when I was just like ick. And about AB, the funniest thing is that I was just telling someone the other day how I thought she was such a horrible actress but then this episode, I don't know, maybe she finally learned a few crying on screen tips from LG.

**sarahb2007 **- Was your having a great day thing supposed to be sarcastic? I mean I actually have been having a great day, because I think that the season finale was the last time Lorelai will ever look at another man. That look. Man. And she said she loved him, she said it twice, three times technically. I have faith and until then, I have fanfic ;)

**roywthepoodles **- Great suggestions for names. Stanley and Stella. Ah, makes me think of two awesome LL scenes.

**aries-****chica56 **- I think what hit me about the sleepover more than that is that when Luke says to call your parents you can clearly see April on the phone which means she must have been calling Anna. And why wouldn't she have mentioned to Anna that Lorelai was there? Or why didn't Anna ask more questions at the time? If she had and been annoyed by it she would have made April hand the phone over to Luke and yelled at him right then, and if she didn't then its her own darn fault. I mean that was the most ridiculous part. But about your comment, when I was around April's age (wow can't believe I can remember that far back) I stayed over at a girl's father's house that my mom didn't know very well, she knew the mom not the dad. She wouldn't have wanted him to be in the room we were sleeping in either but I think what annoyed my mom more was that he went out on a date with his girlfriend and left us alone. So I don't know, not the same thing, I'm not sure what she would have thought if I had actually met the girlfriend or she had stayed in the room with us. I guess, that's not what bothers me at all, it's more the first thing I said. You're right C/L isn't going to work, that can be read on her face in the last scene. And her hair, I think, was bad, but right for the episode, I think it just wasn't something Lorelai was concentrating on, considering that I thought the dress she wore also wasn't flattering.

**To all: **I'm sure most of the readers predicted the twins, I mean, come on, the dream was too perfect to be wrong. I'm pretty sure I've picked out the names already but since I haven't actually written those scenes yet, I'm open to suggestions.

And a small thanks to **GGRox07 **for making my 500th review. Ed McMahon is coming your way!

And check out my new post season finale fic. **Reparations**. It's not fluffy to say the least, but I think it gets the job done. ;)

* * *

**Lorelai's House**

Rory is sitting on the floor in front of the TV going through a large pile of movies. Lorelai walks out of the kitchen with a basket of popcorn and puts in on the table with all the other junk food and Chinese food. She stares down at it, putting her hands on her hips. "Do you think we have enough?" Lorelai asks. Rory glances over her shoulder and surveys the layout of food, pursing her lips.

"You have the tater tots in the oven?" Rory asks. Lorelai nods. "And Luke is bringing burgers?"

"Yeah and pie."

"Well, we could call him and have him stop and get ice cream from Doose's," Rory suggests. Lorelai looks like she thinks that's a good idea, but then sighs.

"Do you think April's gonna think we're crazy if we do that?" Lorelai asks.

"Well you do look a little like Susanna Kaysen," Rory says. Lorelai flops onto the couch, laying her head back against the pillows. "Mom, are you nervous about this?" Lorelai opens one eye and looks at Rory, not moving her head.

"Nervous? About the fact that I'm about to destroy a young girl's happy dream that one day her parents will get married? I'm the Grand High Witch, move over Anjelica Huston, Lorelai Gilmore's taking over." Lorelai rubs her forehead. Rory stands up and walks over to sit next to her mother on the couch.

"Mom, I think you're over thinking this. Luke said she was okay with him and Anna not being together, that she liked that you were dating her dad," Rory reminds her mother.

"Yeah, but it wasn't permanent then. I mean we're not getting married, but having a baby is a pretty permanent change, unless of course you're Khalia Richards and you'll just throw your kid out with the trash." Lorelai really looks worried now. Rory leans her head on Lorelai's shoulder.

"Yeah, but she was on drugs when she did that. And she did end up getting Isaiah back," Rory responds. Lorelai nods. Rory looks up at Lorelai, concerned. "Mom, don't let yourself get stressed out about this, it's not good for you." Lorelai nods. She puts an arm around Rory, pulling her daughter against her.

"You're so good to me, Rory. I'm glad I've got you on my side so that when I'm old and gray and this kid hates me, you'll come take care of me." Lorelai turns her face so she can kiss the top of Rory's head. "Are you sure that your grandparents are okay with you being here tonight instead of at Friday Night Dinner?"

"I called them this week specifically when Gramma was at her DAR meeting and left a message with the maid that I was taking a week off after their horrible display last week," Rory tells Lorelai, who nods slowly. Rory grins, seeing that Lorelai looks nervous about this. "Have you been watching that Kate Jackson movie again?" Lorelai laughs.

"No, I think I've finally given up on the idea that your grandmother is going accuse me of being a Satanist to try to take you from me." They hear the door slam. Rory stands and helps her mom stand up. Lorelai looks a little unsure, but smiles.

"Lorelai?" they hear Luke call as he walks in the room, holding April's hand.

"Hey," Lorelai says, walking over to them. She almost gives Luke a kiss, but hesitates, which makes Rory giggle. Lorelai shoots Rory a look and then gives in and kisses Luke hello.

"Hey to you too," Luke says, smiling at Lorelai. He glances up at Rory. "Glad you could get away."

"Mom says you've never participated in movie night here so I thought attending would ensure that your daughter might come back to the house sometime," Rory teases. April laughs.

"And April, you remember Lorelai," Luke says, motioning towards Lorelai.

"Hey, kid, your dad doing better at coming up with things for you to do?" Lorelai asks, winking at Luke.

"You mean has he asked me to play house lately?" April asks, going along with Lorelai's joke. Luke huffs.

"Jeez, you two are never going to let that go." Luke surveys the room. "What is all of this?" he asks, waving a hand at the coffee table. Lorelai shoots a worried look at Rory.

"What – what do you mean?" Lorelai asks innocently.

"You wanted me to bring burgers, what's that?"

"Snacks." Luke doesn't seem pleased.

"Jeez Lorelai," Luke whines. "Anna's never going to let me spend time with April again if she finds out we're feeding her this kind of crap."

"Well April, we'll just have to keep this between ourselves," Lorelai says, winking at April, who nods, excited. "See Luke, girls just wanna have fun." Luke shakes his head.

"You really need all that food?" he asks.

"We were going to call you to see if you could pick up some ice cream," Rory says. Luke gives Lorelai a look.

"Too much?" she asks. Seeing that Luke's expression doesn't change, Lorelai nods. "Okay well we can put the Chinese in the refrigerator."

"Sounds good, I'll help," Luke says quickly. He and Lorelai both grab some Chinese and take it into the kitchen. Rory smiles at April and motions for the girl to join her on the couch.

"So you like spending time with Luke?" Rory asks. April nods.

"Yeah, he's still working out how to deal with someone younger than you but he's doing okay." Rory smirks.

"I was about your age when I first met your dad. He seemed pretty okay to me. Although that's probably because my mom was always around, driving him crazy."

"Were you close with your dad when you were my age?" Rory thinks about that a moment.

"No, not really. My dad was living in California then and he never came when he said he would. He never called when he said he would," Rory says, remembering how much it hurt when Christopher would do this. She looks down, but then looks back at April, smiling softly. "You know, actually, Luke's been more of a dad to me than my father," she admits, not noticing Luke and Lorelai standing in the doorway. Lorelai wraps her arms around Luke, from the back, placing her chin on his shoulder.

"Your parents were never married either?" April asks. Rory shakes her head. "But you see your dad more now?" Rory looks down, not wanting to tell April the truth. Lorelai realizes that Rory's stuck and decides to help.

"So I've finally convinced Luke it's all right for you to eat something that's not a grapefruit," Lorelai announces, grabbing Luke's hand and pulling him into the room behind her. "You're lucky because I think your dad has a vendetta against Willy Wonka." Rory shoots Lorelai a grateful look.

"So what are we watching?" April asks.

"I thought you might like Breakfast at Tiffany's," Rory says.

"I love that movie!" April exclaims.

"Isn't that some kind of a chick movie?" Luke grumbles. Lorelai hits him. He shrugs. "Actually, we'd like to talk to both of you before we start the movie." Luke and Lorelai share a look.

"I already know you two are dating," April says. "Don't worry, I'm not Hayley Mills."

"Got that Vicki?" Rory teases. Lorelai smiles briefly.

"Well I appreciate that, I hate to think you're going to make me go camping just to get your parents back together," Lorelai responds. She glances over at Luke. "But there's something else your dad wants to tell you." He frowns.

"Thank you for that," he mumbles. Luke walks over and moves stuff on the coffee table so he can sit on it in front of April. "April, Lorelai's pregnant. You're going to be a sister." April glances up at Lorelai, a mix of joy and surprise on her face.

"And we're having twins," Lorelai adds. Rory's mouth drops open and eyes go wide in shock.

"The dream never lies!" Rory exclaims. Luke glances over at Lorelai, giving her a strange look. She giggles nervously.

"No, Rory, the quote is 'and the dream will never die'," Lorelai says, giving Rory a look that explains everything. Rory gets up and runs to Lorelai hugging her. After they're done, Lorelai glances at April nervously, but April just grins.

"I've always wanted to be a big sister, you know, Kristy Thomas's half-sister was born when she was my age," April says. Luke seems confused. Lorelai walks over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"The Baby-Sitters Club, Hun," she informs him. "You gotta get with the program." Luke looks up at her.

"That's why I keep you around," he says, his eyes letting her know he means more than he's saying. She leans down and kisses him.

"Okay, I'm going to go get the taters out of the oven, Rory get the movie ready, April and Luke get comfortable, we're in for quite a night," Lorelai announces, clapping her hands. April excitedly, slides off the couch and Rory grabs the movie as Luke moves to sit on the couch, saving a room for Lorelai, who goes in the other room to get the tater tots. She stands in front of the oven a moment, breathing a sigh of relief that everything went well and smiles knowing that everything is going perfectly.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes: **

**scubaluver - **Anna's not really in the story very much.. I think my Anna is different from the one on the show. I mean, I think Luke and April's relationship here is different from the one on the show. I think here he's more secure in the relationship and I think that has a lot to do with Lorelai's involvement. I'm not sure what you mean by wanting them to talk about where this is going... do you mean them talking about marriage?

**GMB loves Angel** - You know, I think that comes from me not having read the books in a few years. But I always thought Karen and Andrew were her step-siblings and Emily was her half sibling. I mean Emily was adopted but still Kristy shares a parent with her. Right? I haven't read the books in years but I thought I got the reference right. And now I've gone back and checked and I guess Kristy was a little older, like 13, when Emily was adopted.

**LorLukealways **and **smileyGGfan **- So far? Don't you trust me? ;)

**Robinpoppins **- I think seeing family stuff is important, I wish they had more of that with LLandR and now possibly A on the show. I mean it would definitely be a good comparison to what it was like when Lorelai and Rory tried to do family stuff with Max. Or even with Christopher... But I would absolutely kill them if they did a paternity test now. It would be like months and months of having my heart ripped out for no reason. No, let April stay, I mean she's cute, an Luke's kinda a hilarious Dad. Just let her become part of Luke and Lorelai's family, not the other way around, like Lorelai said. I think I tried for a moment to rationalize the whole last scene and even after the scene was over I tried, but I gave up, I just got nauseous all over again, in fact when I watched the scene again I averted my eyes from Christopher, just focused on Lorelai's face because it says so many things and he was just making me want to throw up.

**sarahb2007 **- I think when ASP started writing the story she didn't plan this direction. In fact, when DS first signed up for 7 or 8 episodes she said Christopher would appear but not affect LL in the same way as he had in S5. I'm not sure she wanted to go as far as to break LL up, at least this badly. I think she probably would have just left it with a will they/won't they get married on June 3rd kind of season finale. Still sad, but not as heartbreaking. Because I think she would have married them at the beginning of next year if not sometime next year then because she wants them together, she's said it herself that they belong together. But then, who knows what she was really thinking?

**Babs25 **- Wow, I can't imagine how long that took to read all the chapters, especially because the beginning ones were not some of my best work. But glad you're liking it.

**1laurenfan **- My name is Kerry. (ah and the secret's out)

* * *

**Yale**

Lorelai pulls up to a parking space in the lot in front of Rory's dorm. She turns the key, stopping the engine and glances over at Luke. "Welcome to Yale, this is it," she says.

"Yeah, I've been here before." Lorelai gives him a questioning look. "I helped Rory move in, the second time, with the mattress." Luke is waving his hand to emphasize his point.

"Oh yeah, huh," Lorelai recalls, looking away as she thinks about it. Luke shakes his head.

"What am I, invisible?" Lorelai shrugs.

"I dunno, you'd have to ask Clay Aiken." She winks. "Okay, you ready?" Luke grabs Lorelai's hand as she moves to unbuckle her seatbelt and stops her.

"Wait, let me help you," Luke says. He gets out of the car, walks around and opens her door as she unbuckles her seatbelt. Then Luke offers his hand to Lorelai and helps her out.

"Luke, I'm four months pregnant, I'm not dying," Lorelai says, smirking, but appreciating Luke's help at the same time.

"You're just lucky I let you drive." Lorelai rolls her eyes. She grabs Luke's hand as they walk towards the door.

They don't need to walk too far though because Rory comes flying out of the dorm, running towards them. "Mom!" Rory exclaims, bowling into Lorelai, who can't control her feet and they fall to the ground.

"Rory!" Lorelai exclaims, hugging Rory to her. "You feel so old now, at Yale, short hair, so different. Are you sure you're the child I raised?"

"Yes, and I've got the eyes and deviated septum to prove it," Rory says, touching her nose. "Hi Luke!" She jumps up and throws her arms around him as well. Lorelai laughs as she picks herself up off the ground.

"Wow, Kid, you really missed us!" Lorelai notices. Rory gives her a look.

"You have no idea. Paris shaving creamed Janet's bed last night so this morning Janet woke Paris up singing at the top of her lungs, which, of course, woke Tanna and me up as well," Rory complains. Lorelai gives Rory a sympathetic face, putting an arm around Rory's shoulders.

"Aw, Honey, Sweetie, Baby, you're just recovering hidden memories from back when we lived at the inn and I would wake you up singing Jackson 5."

"You did that?" Luke asks, not really surprised. Lorelai just smiles.

"Come on, we'll check out my dorm room cuz I need to get my keys, then I can give you a tour of campus and then we'll get dinner," Rory says. She steps away from them and begins to walk back to the dorm. Luke takes Lorelai's hand again as they follow Rory back into the dorm. She stands in front of the door to her dorm room. "You ready?"

"Rory, I've been here before, although not during the Civil War of Dorm Room 5," Lorelai reminds Rory.

"Yes, but Luke hasn't." Luke huffs, giving them both an annoyed look.

"Yes, I was here! I helped you move in the second time your mom came out here. Am I that forgettable?" Luke wonders. Lorelai rubs his arm, comfortingly, but she looks over at Rory and shrugs as if she didn't remember either. Luke shakes his head.

Rory opens the door to the dorm, scaring Tanna who turns around and is surprised to see Luke and Lorelai in the room as well. "Wow, there are more people here," Tanna observes.

"I can see why she got into Yale," Luke mumbles causing Lorelai to giggle. Rory leaves them and walks into the room she shares with Paris to get her keys.

"Hey Tanna, how's school so far?" Lorelai asks the girl, trying to control her giggles. Luke takes his hand out of hers and moves it to her upper back, rubbing in circles.

"It's good. Different. I think I've got the studying and the testing thing down but I'm having a little trouble socializing with people who are two years older than me," Tanna explains.

"And actually human," Paris adds to Tanna's statement as she walks out of the room, with Rory following her. Hearing the voices, Janet walks out of her room.

"So Paris, Tanna, Janet, you remember my mom, Lorelai," Rory says, motioning to Lorelai.

"Wow, you're pregnant," Paris notes, stating the truth as usual. Lorelai does a little nervous laugh, wrapping her arm back around Luke.

"Yeah, four months, Rory's going to be a big sister soon," Lorelai says. "Hey Janet, good to see you again."

"And, Paris, you've met Luke, right?" Rory says.

"Yeah, of course, the truckers start eating at your diner yet?" Paris asks, eyes narrowing.

"At least Anthony Michael Hall remembers me," Luke mumbles to Lorelai, who gives him a look.

"This is your father, Rory?" Janet asks, motioning to Luke, who shares a glance with Lorelai. Rory blushes.

"No, well, Luke's – uh – he's…"

"He's my – uh – boyfriend," Lorelai finishes, nodding to Rory.

"Boyfriend?" Janet asks, distaste showing on her face.

"Wow, I haven't seen that look in 19 years," Lorelai whispers to Luke. Rory notices Luke and Lorelai's discomfort.

"Well, you guys should get to class, we're gonna go tour the campus," Rory says lightly. She motions to the door with her eyes as Lorelai breathes a sigh of relief. They follow Rory out of the room and Rory locks it behind them.

"Just tell me you're not going to walk me by the church make me go to confession," Lorelai says. Rory sighs.

"Tour. Now," Rory states, motioning for Luke and Lorelai to follow. They walk out of the dorm as Rory begin pointing things out around campus. Lorelai and Luke are nodding, pretending to be more interested in they are but Lorelai just seems pleased that Rory's enjoying herself so much. "And this is my favorite library. It's so big and there's this study corner right in the middle of the Shakespeare section that is not too quiet but not too loud."

"It's perfect for Goldilocks?" Lorelai quips.

"We can go inside and see the books. They're beautiful and old and sometimes when I'm in a bad mood I like to go in and just smell the books," Rory says, her eyes smiling.

"Smell the books?" Luke asks, finally unable to hide his true opinion. He glances at Lorelai.

"I don't know, she came out like this," Lorelai says, shaking her head.

"And here's my favorite coffee cart," Rory continues, motioning. Lorelai's face lights up.

"Mine too! It's the one I found for you!" Rory nods.

"Do you want some?" Rory asks.

"Do I," Lorelai responds, grinning.

"Luke, can I get you – a – water – or something?" Rory asks, taking her wallet out of her purse. Luke waves her off.

"No I'm fine. Make hers decaf," he adds, pointing with his thumb at Lorelai. She pouts. Luke gives her a look. She sighs.

"Fine. Rory I'll have decaf, but it better be strong!" Rory nods and walks over to the coffee cart. "Well at least I know you're going to be a good daddy," Lorelai teases, turning to face Luke, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"While we're on the topic…" Luke begins, wrapping his arms around her waist. "How is that going to work?" Lorelai looks confused. "I mean the twins, when they're born, they'll live with you, right?"

"Well there's barely room for one in your little cave above the diner."

"Yes, I know that. That's why I'm saying if they're living with you, then when do I get to be the Dad? I mean when am I going to see them? How am I going to be there?" Lorelai stares at him, thinking about what he's saying.

"Are you saying you want to move in?" she asks, not seeming at all scared at the prospect that he might agree.

"Well… we've only been dating a few months," Luke notes, his hands traveling down into the back pockets of her jeans.

"Yes, well, we've only been _dating _dating for a few months. We've had a relationship for, well, since Rory was 10," Lorelai responds. Luke nods. "We can fix up the extra room upstairs for a nursery and when they're older we can make the sewing room into another bedroom for one of them. And if you really want, we can fix up my bedroom, make it a little less girly." She winks.

"And a little less messy. Your room isn't known for being clean," Luke adds. He watches her face. "Don't say dirty, it's too easy." She just wiggles her eyebrow instead, at which Luke can't help but smile. "Lorelai, let's live together."

"Brighter than the stars forever," she finishes. Luke pulls her hips closer to him with his hands still in her back pockets, leaning in and kissing her deeply.

"Hey guys this is a public place," Rory reminds them as she walks back over. Lorelai moves so that she and Luke just have one arm around each other and takes a coffee from Rory.

"Sorry Mom," Lorelai says, in her apologetic voice, actually blushing.

"Yes, I hope you'll think before you do that next time," Rory says. "Come on, we still have to get to old campus. Oh, and the newspaper office."

"Hey Rory," they hear from behind.

"Marty!" Rory exclaims, as she turns around to see who it is. "Mom, this is Marty."

"Naked guy?" Lorelai asks. Marty's mouth drops open in shock as Luke gives Lorelai a horrified look.

"You told your mom about that?" Marty asks Rory, a little nervous about that. Rory smiles, patting Marty's arm.

"It's okay, my mom's cool about that. I think it was one of her favorite Yale stories," Rory says.

"Yeah, Marty, it's okay, we all do stupid things, yours was just with no clothes on," Lorelai comments, pressing her lips together to keep from laughing.

"You know him as naked guy?" Luke asks Lorelai.

"You really want to know why?" she asks. Luke glances at Rory and then shakes his head. "Marty, you can call me Lorelai."

"And this is my dad, Luke. He's like the closest thing I ever had to a father," Rory tells Marty, not seeing Luke's proud and pleased face or Lorelai's concerned expression. "Which is good because he and my mom are going to have twins soon."

"It's nice to meet you both, I just wish you didn't already know my most embarrassing moment," Marty says. He shakes hands with both Luke and Lorelai. "Well, Rory, I better be getting to class, but call me this weekend if you want to have a study and junk food-athon."

"Will do," Rory responds, smiling. He waves and walks away.

"Naked guy's cute," Lorelai says, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Naked guy is Marty," Rory states.

"Yes, and Luke used to be just Luke," Lorelai responds. Luke looks at Lorelai confused.

"I was?"

"Yeah, that's what I used to say when people asked about how I felt about you and I didn't even realize that I had feelings for you," Lorelai explains.

"Well that's not how it is with Marty," Rory insists. Lorelai nods, unconvinced.

"Hey, um, Ror, can I talk to you a second?" Lorelai asks.

"You know what, I'm going to go smell those books," Luke says, finding some lame excuse to leave the two of them alone. Rory looks at Lorelai confused.

"What's wrong?" Rory asks.

"Hun, I appreciate that you love Luke like a Dad, but are you sure you want to go around introducing him as your dad? It's not really something you can take back," Lorelai says, a little concerned.

"No, Mom, I'm sure. Chris is my father, he's the reason I'm alive, but Luke's my dad, he always has been, he's the reason I'm me," Rory contends.

"I'm glad to hear that, but just be sure this isn't because you're not talking to Christopher right now, because I know eventually you two will be on better terms and I don't want Luke getting hurt by that." Rory shakes her head.

"I wouldn't do that. I meant what I said. Even if Chris and I start talking again, which I'm not sure is going to happen, he'll still be the guy who didn't show up, who forgot my birthday, who hurt you and Luke will be the guy who always remembered, who was always there and who loves you." Lorelai smiles. "Okay?" Lorelai nods.

"We're good, now let's get going, I'm getting hungry," Lorelai says. Rory sees Luke standing by the door to the library, looking very uncomfortable with his surroundings. She waves him back over.

"Everything okay?" Luke asks, putting an arm back around Lorelai.

"Yup," Lorelai says.

"Come on, we still have so many things to see," Rory says, motioning.

"And miles to go before I eat," Lorelai quips. Rory gives her a look but Lorelai motions for her to lead on. Luke pulls Lorelai closer to him with his arm that is still wrapped around her waist and kisses the top of her head. Then they follow Rory off to Old Campus.


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes:**

Okay, let me start by begging you not to hate me for this chapter. The whole Christopher storyline was never tied up, in fact it probably won't be for awhile, so I've got to go back to it every once in awhile. Just take this chapter for what it is, another way to move the story, and know that as a hard core JavaJunkie, I could never put Lorelai and Christopher together, not even for a moment. Especially not anymore.

And my comment on my last chapter is that personally it's my favorite chapter so far. I love that one. I had so much fun writing it. Just Luke, Lorelai and Rory hanging out. Coupley stuff. Teasing. I just loved it. Especially throwing in the Luke/Dad stuff and moving in stuff. And I can't believe no one caught my Styx reference! Yes, I understand not many people have listened to Styx, but their song 'Lorelei' is so about our Lorelai.

And I've cancelled my other fanfic, because a couple people said they weren't going to read it so I felt it was pointless to post it and also it was making me depressed to write it. So maybe after next season starts and they get back together, I can work on it some more. But instead, crazy enough, I came up with a completely new idea, and it's a much happier LL fic, so look forward to that. I'll probably start posting that when I'm done with **Reparations**.

**Ronata **- You're back! I was wondering why there was no review from you for the last chapter! Ug, moving, I hate moving. So much work. I'm staying in the same apartment for next year just because I hate moving so much.

**Robinpoppins **- Yup, I totally watched that marathon too! I've been watching the series straight through lately but I had to stop once I reached 5.13, because although it's one of my favorite episodes I don't know if I'm ready for break-up episodes right now.

**sarahb2007 **- I've seen some 7th heaven off and on. Never really got into it because it was too sickly sweet for me. Too perfect. I love Lorelai's flaws. But I also saw the article about renewing it for an 11th season and was kinda annoyed. Can it just be over already? I thought they had already done a series finale. I guess in the long run it doesn't bother me since GG is coming back for a 7th season, I just wish they could convince LG and AB to do an 8th.

**hollywoodgrl **- I love that saying too.

**LLfreak8285 **and **VlonewolfV **and **Babs25 **- I had to include Marty. I love Marty. I miss Marty. In fact, in my first GG fic I had Rory marry Marty.

You guys want Luke and Lorelai to get married? Maybe...

* * *

**Hartford**

Lorelai is in Hartford shopping for silverware and linen ideas for the inn. She walks out of a coffee shop, having stopped to get a large decaf mocha with lots of whipped cream. She pauses outside the door to rub the cream off of her lip, causing a man walking by talking on a cell phone to crash into her. "Oh!" she exclaims, managing to hold onto her coffee. Lorelai lets out a relieved sigh that she didn't lose her coffee. "Sor-" she stops seeing who it is.

"Lor!" Christopher exclaims, surprised. She stares at him in shock. "Heya, Fred, I'm gonna have to call you back," he says quickly into the phone and shuts it with a snap. "Lorelai."

"Christopher," Lorelai breathes, still in shock.

"What are you doing in Hartford on a Tuesday?" Chris asks.

"What are you doing in Hartford period?" Lorelai responds.

"My dad got sick over the weekend so I took some time off to spend with him and help my mom out," Chris explains.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Lorelai says sympathetically. Chris nods.

"Thanks. So what are you doing in Hartford on a Tuesday?" Chris asks again trying to change the subject.

"Oh, well, Sookie and I are trying to get the inn ready by May so I have a list of things to check out and Hartford's the closest place to find this stuff," Lorelai explains.

"I see, and Sookie is…?" Lorelai looks confused for a moment before she realizes what he's asking.

"Oh she's back in Stars Hallow. She's about ready to pop any day now. She's come up with the idea that Davey's making her uterus his permanent home," Lorelai replies. Chris chuckles.

"Well that kid has another thing coming, I wouldn't mess with Sookie." Lorelai raises her eyebrows, nodding in agreement. "You look good," Chris says actually looking at her. "And pregnant?" His eyes go wide as he looks back up at Lorelai's face. She smiles uncomfortably.

"Yeah…" Lorelai rubs her forehead. "Luke and I are having twins, they're due in February."

"Twins?" Chris breathes. "With Luke." He furrows his eyebrows as he mulls this over. "In February." Lorelai bites her lower lip, a little embarrassed. "Wow."

"Yeah, chalk up another one to Lorelai Gilmore, I'm not really good at planning for pregnancies, I guess the gods are against me," Lorelai figures. "I should have told you – I mean – somehow – we haven't talked lately – but…" She's not really sure what she should say.

"Yeah…" Chris manages. "Are you guys getting married?" Lorelai shakes her head. "You haven't changed."

"Christopher, you of all people know that I'm not going to marry someone just to have a nuclear family." Chris nods, knowingly.

"Are you ever going to marry him?" Lorelai shrugs. "You guys are together, right?" Lorelai sighs.

"Yeah, Chris, we are," Lorelai says, her eyes showing how sorry she is to have to have this conversation. Chris nods.

"Do you love him?" Lorelai drinks some of her coffee, trying to keep from having to answer, but Chris knows her too well. "Lor?" She sighs, biting her lower lip. She looks away, pursing her lips, taking her time. Then Lorelai looks back at Chris.

"I – I don't know. Chris, I'm still working on that," Lorelai says softly. She scratches her forehead. "I'm getting closer to saying it, but if and when I do, Luke's going to be the first one to know." Lorelai lets out a deep breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"And how's Rory?" Christopher asks, actually noticing that Lorelai wants to be done with that subject.

"She's still not talking to you?" Chris shakes his head sadly. "She's good. She loves Yale, not so much her roommates, but she's having fun, making friends, you know Rory."

"Oh I know Rory, she's just like you," Chris says.

"Chris, I'm not keeping her from you. I'm not the reason that she's not talking to you," Lorelai insists.

"Well, indirectly you are, but no, it's my fault," Chris admits. The unspoken words between them still show how sorry Christopher is for his drunken actions. "Do you think, if that hadn't happened, do you think we would have made it?" Lorelai stares at him, hoping he'll realize the answer himself, but when he doesn't, she shakes her head.

"No Chris, and you know that," Lorelai says, but Chris doesn't answer. She sighs. "We may have been good together at 16 but not 34. We grew up. We grew apart. We matured. Even Darcy Elliot gave up Stan after Thea was born because they were going in different directions." Chris nods. Lorelai touches his arm softly. "Chris we are such different people now than we were at 16. I didn't," she pauses afraid for a moment to tell him the truth, but knows she has to. "I didn't love you Chris. It wasn't right. For you. For me. For Rory. If we had stayed together it would have been a lie, we would have been unhappy, I know it. The music died." Chris sighs.

"Yeah I heard, Don McLean called," he jokes. Lorelai half-smiles.

"So you see what I'm saying?" Chris looks at her pleading eyes for a moment.

"Yeah." He sighs again. "Yeah, Lor, I know. Where would we have lived? And if we couldn't work out something as easy as that, there were so much bigger things that we were missing."

"See, you understand."

"And you would have eventually realized that you loved Luke," Chris adds. Lorelai takes in a breath sharply. "It's okay Lor, you're right, I still need to find that woman for me. Maybe I'll go to LA and hire a prostitute, it worked for Richard Gere." Lorelai finally relaxes and laughs. Chris smiles as well. "I'm glad that you're happy, that's really all I want for you Lor."

"Thanks," Lorelai says softly.

"And eventually, you'll see I'm right as well." Lorelai raises an eyebrow. "That you're in love with Luke." Lorelai blushes, smiling, but doesn't say anything. Chris's cell phone rings. He glances at it. "Well, work calls." They awkwardly share a one-armed hug. "I'll see you around Lor, don't be a stranger." She waves and begins to walk away. "And Lor." She glances back at him. "Make sure you let me know when those kids are born, I've got something for them." Lorelai nods and walks away. Chris picks up the call, watching her for a moment and then walks off in the other direction.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes:**

Yeah, I know this one's a little short. Apparently writing a million fics at once is taking a lot out of me, but my brain just keeps working and while in class is when I think of the best fic ideas, don't know why that is... But this one is my most important so don't think I've forgotten you. Hopefully I'll have a chance soon to polish and finally post one or two of my other fics, or repost after repolishing one of them.

And sorry, I really wanted to get this chapter out so no time for review responses this time. I'll try better for next chapter! But know that I appreciated them all!

* * *

**Sookie's House**

The Festival of Living Art goes on as planned. Both Lorelai and Rory participate and, unlike on the show, Luke attends, but stands at the back. He makes sure Lorelai knows where to find him when she gets on stage so that she can be calm and not flinch. When the pager goes off, Luke waits for Lorelai to get off stage and races to find her, handing her the pager. She immediately grabs both Rory and Luke's hands and drags them along as she races off to Sookie's.

"Lorelai, my arm is being pulled out of its socket," Luke shouts as he struggles to keep up with Lorelai's pace. "And I don't know where you got this energy from, you haven't drunk caffeine in weeks."

"That's what you think!" Lorelai yells back.

"Lorelai, so help me, if those kids come out with even an extra toe, I'll make sure you're drinking decaf for the rest of your life!"

Lorelai stops suddenly, gaping at Luke. Rory clutches her knees, gasping for breath. "That's a scary threat, Tom Ridge." Luke folds his arms but doesn't give in. She sighs. "I haven't been drinking caffeinated coffee," she admits.

"And you've been eating healthy food, no junk food nights?"

"What are you the health food Nazi?" Lorelai flings her arms in the air in frustration.

"A few vegetables once in awhile wouldn't kill you."

"They would if they were killer tomatoes," Lorelai teases. Luke gives in putting his hands on her shoulders, knowing he should just give in. She kisses him quickly. "Come on, Davey's not going to wait for us."

Luke and Lorelai head towards the house but Rory doesn't move. Lorelai glances back at Rory. "Hey Hun, all the action's inside the house," Lorelai tells Rory, as she points towards the house. Rory wrinkles her nose in disgust.

"You go ahead, I'll wait until Davey's born and cleaned up," Rory says. Lorelai smirks.

"Well at least I know that's one aspect of my life you're not going to copy." Rory puts her hands on her hips, glaring at Lorelai. "You going to do this when your siblings are born?"

"I'd count on it," Rory responds.

"Crazy girl. Come on, this is something you should experience, Luke," Lorelai says, grabbing Luke's hand and pulling him with her into the house. "Sookie! Bruce! Jackson!" Jackson walks into the hall.

"Hey guys," Jackson says to them. Lorelai look at him strangely.

"You seem surprisingly calm," Lorelai notes.

"Yeah, the only thing I'm worried about is which cigars to pick," Jackson replies. Luke snorts. Jackson glares at him.

"Okay, Babe, why don't you hang with Jackson, I'm going to go check on Sookie," Lorelai says, touching Luke's arm. Luke looks at her like he doesn't really want to be stuck in a room with Jackson and Beau. "I promise proper retribution tonight…" Luke grins. "Jackson, be good to Luke," Lorelai warns. She turns and walks down the hall to the bedroom where Sookie's giving birth.

"Lorelai!" Sookie exclaims between contractions. Bruce glances up from where she is and gives Lorelai a dirty look. "Come here!" Sookie holds out a hand to Lorelai, who is instantly by her friend's side. "Oooh, here comes another one!" Sookie squeezes Lorelai's hand as hard as she can as she bears through another contraction.

"Push Sookie, Push!" Lorelai yells, trying not to concentrate on the fact that her hand might be broken. "Keep pushing!" Sookie bears down with all she's got and then stops, gasping for breath. Lorelai glances at Bruce. "How we doing?"

"Just one more push Sookie, and ma'am we could do without you screaming at her, that is not the first thing the baby should hear," Bruce said sharply.

"Okay," Lorelai promises, her eyes wide. She shares a tense look with Sookie.

"All right, Sookie, let's push now," Bruce says.

"Push with everything you've got," Lorelai whispers in Sookie's ear as Sookie squeals from all the effort she's putting into it.

"Good!" Bruce says. "You can relax now." After a few seconds, Sookie hears a soft cry from her new son. "It's a boy." Bruce stands up with the baby in her arms. "Here let me give him to you."

"My advice, let her clean him up first so he doesn't look like he just crawled out of the black lagoon," Lorelai says.

"We can do without your advice," Bruce snaps. She wraps a blanket around Davey and places him on Sookie's chest. Sookie wrinkles her nose, glancing at Lorelai.

"It is kinda gross," Sookie notes to Lorelai.

"Give him back!" Bruce demands. She takes Davey away, cuts the cord and cleans him off. Then she gives him back to Sookie.

"Oh, he's beautiful," Sookie cries. "Hi, little one. Hi Davey." Sookie smiles broadly as she runs her finger over Davey's cheeks, holding him tightly with her other arm. She looks up at Lorelai. "Isn't he amazing?" Lorelai nods, smiling.

"Yes, he is," Lorelai agrees. She reaches out and touches Davey's hands. Bruce walks out. After a few moments she walks back in with Jackson, Beau and Luke following.

"I have a son!" Jackson announces. "I have a son. I have created one in my likeness." Sookie giggles.

"Jackson, come and look at your son," Sookie says. Jackson walks over to Sookie's bedside, opposite where Lorelai is standing and sees his son for the first time. "He's perfect." Jackson nods.

"He is," he agrees. Then he leans in and gives Sookie a kiss. "You did a great job Mommy." Beau stands unenthralled at the foot of the bed. Luke walks over to stand next to Lorelai, wrapping an arm around her waist. She glances up at him adoringly.

"You ready for this?" she asks softly. Luke nods, gazing at her.

"You and I, we can do this together. It's going to be amazing," Luke says in a deep gruff voice. Lorelai leans in and kisses him softly.


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes:**

Well here's how you know how much I appreciate you. Two chapters in two days! Both shorter than normal, but hey it's something! You know your reviews actually egged me on.

And I want to plug my new fic** To Luke, With Love**. It's about Lorelai writing letters to Luke from Paris, revealing her thoughts on her past, present and future. I love just getting into Lorelai and disecting her out, what an amazing character. Take a minute or two and give it a chance!

Happy Birthday to **smileyGGfan**! I remember my 16th birthday fondly, one of my favorites! I hope yours was just as nice. Sorry, I know you're right about the whole Rory not knowing about Davey thing and I really do hate when I mess up like that, probably why I edit so many times. Thanks for catching it.

**

* * *

**

**Yale**

Lorelai, Luke and Rory are sitting on the ground near the stadium, waiting for Richard and Emily to arrive so they can go to the Harvard/Yale game. "I don't know how you got me to go to this," Luke grumbles. Lorelai gives him a look.

"I thought you liked football," she says.

"Baseball, not football."

"Yes, but you're a guy."

"That much is clear to me."

"Me too! But what I'm saying is that you're a guy and all guys like football. They like to drink and yell and beat their chests when their team wins." Luke looks at her strangely.

"Do you imagine that guys are similar to the monkeys in the beginning scene of Space Odyssey?" Luke asks, teasing her. Lorelai wrinkles her nose.

"I haven't seen any proof to the contrary," Lorelai responds. Luke chuckles, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"What are you doing on the ground?" they hear Emily's shrill voice from above them. Lorelai stares at their shoes, rolling her eyes. "It's filthy down there!" Lorelai looks up at Emily forcing a smile.

"Hi Mom. Dad," Lorelai says. Rory stands and hugs each of her grandparents. Luke stands and helps Lorelai up.

"Hello Emily, Mr. Gilmore," Luke says. He offers his hand but Emily just stares at it in disgust. Luke slowly moves his hand back, putting it around Lorelai's shoulders.

"So good that you could join us, Luke," Emily lies. "It will be nice for you to see Rory's school."

"Actually, I've seen it, Rory gave us a tour about a month ago," Luke says. Emily nods, not really caring.

"So Mom, let's go start this football game," Lorelai says brightly.

"Lorelai, the football game isn't for a few hours," Richard says.

"A few hours?" Lorelai repeats, her face falling. Emily rolls her eyes.

"Come along," Emily motions. They follow her over to the tailgating table. "Normally we go visit Dan and have a toast before we start tailgating but I thought you'd like to sit down," Emily says to Lorelai, who smiles in appreciation.

"Thanks Mom," she says, sitting down at the picnic table, a sense of relief washing over her face. Emily smiles knowingly.

"Okay, well I'm going to go see Dan, Rory you should join me," Richard says.

"Dan?" Lorelai asks. "Some old friend of yours?"

"Old?" Richard asks.

"Yes, and when I say old, I mean long time. More like Han Solo and Chewbacca than the Golden Girls," Lorelai explains.

"Dan is the original Yale mascot," Emily explains.

"So then the Han Solo and Chewbacca reference works." Richard doesn't seem pleased. Lorelai shrugs. "So if he's the original Yale mascot, wouldn't he be dead?"

"He is dead, they had him stuffed," Richard answers. Lorelai has a horrified expression on her face.

"And you thought I was mean to Skippy," Lorelai complains, glaring at Rory.

"Come on," Rory says. She gives Luke a pleading look.

"Why don't I join?" Luke offers, not really meaning it. He, Richard and Rory walk away. Lorelai smiles watching Rory wrap an arm around Luke's as she leads him away. Emily watches them too, none too pleased.

"So you think he's just going to replace Christopher in her life?" Emily asks. Lorelai gives her a strange look.

"No."

"Well he seems to be. Last week at dinner, she referred to him as Dad. Then she does that," Emily snaps, motioning in the direction that they went. "Christopher is still her father."

"I know he is, Mom. And I've told him that and her. Rory still hasn't gotten over what Christopher did to me, she still isn't talking to him, and she thinks that Luke is a good father figure for her. She doesn't think that Chris has been very influential in her life and she thinks that Luke has. I've told Rory not to write Chris off, but Rory wants what Rory wants," Lorelai says.

"Yes, well you don't always get what you want."

"So said the Rolling Stones," Lorelai quips. Emily gives her a hard look. "Sorry," she whispers. Emily looks down sadly. Lorelai reaches across the table and touches Emily's arm. "Mom, this isn't something that you need to worry about. Rory. Christopher. Luke. They're all grown ups, they can figure things out for themselves without our meddling." Emily sighs.

"What happens when your twins are older and they decide to write off Luke for whatever man you may happen to have latched on to at that point?" Emily asks. Lorelai looks shell shocked.

"Well that won't happen," Lorelai insists.

"How do you know that?"

"Because," Lorelai says, by way of explanation. Emily raises an eyebrow. "It's different with Luke. And I know you don't believe me, but it is. He's moving in, we're going to get married."

"He proposed?" Lorelai looks down at her hands giving Emily time to put a knowing smile on her face.

"No." She looks up at Emily sadly. "But he will, we're just, it's just starting. Getting married now, it would be too soon. But he's here, he's all in and he's not leaving, not like Chris did."

"Christopher left the first time because you pushed him away. Because you wouldn't say yes to his proposal."

"Well, if Luke proposed, I would probably say yes now," Lorelai contends.

"That doesn't surprise me, you've gotten good at that, it's just actually following through and getting married that you're failing at," Emily comments. Lorelai groans. Luke, Rory and Richard return. Luke sits down next to Lorelai.

"You okay?" he asks in a whisper. Lorelai gives him a pained look. Luke puts a comforting hand on her knee.

"How long are football games?" Lorelai asks. Luke thinks about it.

"About 4 maybe 5 hours." Lorelai groans.

"It's going to be a long day," she whines. Luke rubs her shoulder as they return to the conversation that Emily, Richard and Rory are having.


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes:**

So wow, my brain working the way it is, I've got 3 stories set to go throughout the summer (**When Hearts Collide, To Luke With Love, **and **It Was Never Uncomplicated**), as well as a few other possibilities for oneshots and such. I guess I'm good to get through the break between seasons. I'm liking this multi-story life I'm living right now. It's fun to switch from story to story. Lorelai's in such a different place in all of them so its like the same character but discovering different things about her all the time. And then of course getting to really take a look at Luke and Lorelai's relationship from 3 different viewpoints is great too. It's also nice that two are angsty and post S6 fics and the others are just fun and somestimes fluffy, so depending on my mood I can write any of them. Course I can only write a little each day cause school's not over yet, which leads me onto my next note.

Just so you know, I think I will be posting chapters to this slightly less often. I've been pretty good about updating so far, so give me a little break here. I want to really take this summer to improve my writing, since I won't have school to take up my time with classes and studying. Just work. I think I can really work my stories over and make them a lot better than they are. I'm liking my current fics so much that I think I really want to make them good.

**Review Responses: **

**chmelms **- I believe you've mentioned that you don't like Emily before, in one of the earlier chapters. It's hard for me because I like and dislike her at the same time. So I think I just try to write her in a way that doesn't say I'm pro or con Emily, I just write what I imagine she would say in any given situation.

**sarahb2007 **- I just went through some of the early season 4 episodes and picked out a few that I'd like to add Luke to and I liked the Yale game episode and the Living Pictures episode.

**GMBlovesAngel **- Yeah Emily's like that though, except apparently in the last two episodes and I think one chapter of this story.

**hollywoodgrl **- Well I appreciate your review anyways! Thanks!

**Christi06 **- I'd bet on that happening soon but not in this chapter.

**aries-chica56** - Ug, Digger. I don't know why that relationship lasted as long as it did. They had no chemistry and I couldn't even see how Lorelai liked the guy at all!

**smileyGGfan **- I wasn't really apologizing about the Rory/Davey think, I actually like that you picked that out. It drives me crazy making mistakes like that, which is why I edit so many times. Here's my hint to you: now that we've seen Lorelai's ready to take their relationship futher, we have to find out if Luke is.

**Christina **- Welcome to GG and the JavaJunkie fandom. I'll admit I haven't been watching GG from the beginning either. But after buying seasons 1-5, I've caught up. And to think, when I started watching I wasn't a JJ, though I was always a Lorelai fan. Thank you for taking the time to read the whole story and I'm glad you liked it so far!

**Babs25 **- Thanks!

**LLfreak8285 **- Unfortunately, I admit my mom is a lot like that. Main reason why I went away to school. We do much better with a few hours drive between us. Just one more way I can relate to Lorelai, still thankfully didn't get pregnant at 16.

**Ronata - **See I guess I'm glad I work up late this morning and almost missed my first class because I was able to see your review before I posted the next chapter. Sometimes I think Emily is Lorelai's selfdepricating subconscious speaking aloud.

* * *

**Luke's Diner**

Lorelai walks in. Seeing Luke behind the counter, she walks over and settles herself on a stool. "Ugh," she moans. Luke glances up at her with a smile.

"Rough day?"

"Well Tom added another couple thousand to our bill for the Dragonfly, the wallpaper for the nursery was backordered and my car wouldn't start again so I had to walk all the way over here," Lorelai complains. Luke reaches out and rubs her hand in sympathy. "And walking wouldn't normally be a problem except for the fact that I'm six months pregnant with twins, no thanks to you." She glares at him.

"Can I get you some coffee?" he offers.

"Yes, with lots of caffeine." She grins.

"One large decaf coming up," he replies, walking away. Lorelai shakes her head in misery. The bell rings as someone else walks in the diner and up to the counter. "You know, I was thinking that I could just paint the nursery," Luke says, not facing Lorelai. He turns around to bring the coffee to Lorelai and steps back in surprise. Lorelai glances over at the person standing next to her, trying to figure out who this person is. "Jeez, give a guy a heart attack why don't you?" Luke grumbles. He walks over and sets the coffee in front of Lorelai.

"If I had called would you have wanted me to come?" the woman asks. Luke folds his arms across his chest. "See, I know you."

"No, you don't. You think you can just show up and all is forgiven." The woman sighs, obviously not happy with Luke's response. Lorelai clears her throat, bringing Luke's attention back to her. "Oh, uh Lorelai, this is my sister Liz." He motions. "Liz, Lorelai."

"Oh hey, it's nice to finally meet you," Lorelai says, offering her hand to Liz, who shakes it.

"Same here," Liz agrees.

"He's told me a lot about you."

"Really?" Liz glances at Luke, who shrugs. "Nice things?"

"Yeah, the gruff exterior is just a façade I've found," Lorelai teases.

"Yeah, I'll give you that. So, Lorelai, how do you know Luke?" Lorelai looks confused and she glances pointedly over at Luke. He sighs.

"Lorelai's my girlfriend. Liz, I've told you that," Luke says, not happy with Liz for getting him in trouble.

"Yeah I remember something about that, but you didn't really say much," Liz responds. She smiles at Lorelai. "Well it's nice to meet you anyways, Luke doesn't often introduce me to his girlfriends. Except Carrie, she was my best friend in high school." Liz winks at Luke, who sighs is frustration.

"Carrie was not my girlfriend. She's crazy. She once thought that her brother was Peter Parker."

"Oh she did not," Liz replies, hitting Luke's arm playfully. "She was talking about a dream she had." Lorelai raises an eyebrow, amused. "So you're pregnant," Liz comments, looking back at Lorelai, whose eyes narrow.

"Yeah…" She looks at Luke curiously.

"We're having twins," Luke says. Liz looks extremely surprised by this news.

"Now you told me about April, but twins. Wow," Liz manages. "But I'm so happy for you, both of you." She hugs Lorelai, who hesitates but gives in to the hug. "This is so exciting."

"Liz, what are you doing here?" Luke finally asks.

"I wanted to pick up the rest of Jess's things and that kind of thing. I haven't seen you in forever, you should be happy to see your little sister."

"My cup runneth over," Luke crabs. Liz smiles shaking her head.

"Oooh, hey I'm going to go see how much stuff is up there, see if I can fit it all in my truck or if I should call TJ."

"TJ?" Luke asks, not really wanting to know.

"Yeah, TJ, he's my new-"

"Boyfriend," Luke finishes. "Please don't bring him here."

"Lu-uke," Liz whines. Lorelai is glancing between the two like she's at a tennis match.

"Remember what happened last time?" Luke asks.

"I got your silverware back," Liz insists. Luke rolls his eyes.

"Go upstairs, I'll meet you up there in a minute," Luke says, finally. Liz nods.

"Nice to meet you Lorelai," she says. Lorelai smiles softly as Liz walks away. She glances over at Luke, an unhappy expression on her face.

"More coffee?" Luke offers. Lorelai arches an eyebrow. Luke sighs. "This can't be good."

"Are you honestly telling me you don't know what I'm mad about?" Lorelai asks, surprised. Luke shrugs. Lorelai scoffs. "Liz!" She flings her arm at the ceiling. Luke raises his eyes to the sky as if he can see Liz through the ceiling. "Luke, Liz," she says saying Liz with more emphasis.

"Yeah I heard you. You don't like Liz? I promise, it can only get worse." Luke leans in, placing his hands on the edge of the counter. "You remember Requiem For A Dream?" Lorelai nods. "She could have starred in that."

"Which version?" Lorelai asks, very interested now. Luke gives her a look. "So not the R rated version."

"I really couldn't tell you and I don't want to find out."

"Wow," Lorelai gasps, shaking her head in surprise. "I wouldn't have imagined it. And she grew up in Stars Hollow?"

"Well she grew up in the attic of my house where she and her friends would hide and do God knows what. I tried to stay out of it, spent most of my time in my dad's store until the day they almost burned down the house trying to cook meth without a recipe," Luke explains, keeping his voice now. Lorelai gasps.

"There is a seedy underbelly of Stars Hallow."

"You tell that Paris freak and I'm going to name our daughter after your mother," Luke threatens. Lorelai gasps again.

"That's so horrible! I can't believe you would say such a thing to the woman you impregnated." Luke smirks and shakes his head. After a moment, she reaches out, tracing his tense hand with her finger. "Can I ask you something?" Luke nods. "Why haven't you told Liz anything about me? I mean I know you don't talk that often, that you're not that close, but I'm six months pregnant and she hasn't so much as heard my name." Luke notices that Lorelai's clearly upset, even though she's trying to hide it. He walks around the counter and sits down on the stool next to her, placing a hand on her knee.

"Lorelai, don't read anything into this. I want you to listen to me, Lorelai. You are the most wonderful, amazing person that I've ever met. I want to be with you more than anything in the world. I'm so overcome by everything, the twins, April, us. And the fact that I didn't tell Liz, doesn't mean I'm not happy that all this is happening. I would do anything for you, Lorelai, anything to make you happy. Remember, I gave you up to Christopher just to make you happy. So no matter what, if you hear anything that makes you sad or unhappy or disappointed with me, know that you should come to me immediately and let me know because I don't want you to ever be sad or unhappy or disappointed again." Lorelai stares at him, her mouth open slightly at she listens to his speech.

"You talk so well for someone who used to grunt full sentences," Lorelai says softly. She reaches up and strokes his cheek, letting her fingers run lightly over his stubble. "You are so wonderful to me, I wonder if I even deserve you."

"You deserve more," Luke answers. Lorelai's eyes are misty with happiness as she smiles.

"You ever feel like you're living in a Jim Brickman song?" she asks softly.

"Only since we started dating." Lorelai nods, smiling. "I'm sorry I didn't tell Liz that much about you or the twins, but last I talked to her I was still mulling it all over myself. It was months ago." Lorelai nods. "I promise."

"I believe you," she whispers. Placing both hands on her knees, Luke leans towards Lorelai kissing her softly and deeply. As she pulls back, she looks deep into his eyes and smiles, realizing she could finally have everything.


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes: **

Wow. Fifty chapters. It seems like just yesterday I was crying as I wrote **Loved and Lost**, so I decided to watch some older episodes of GG and I watched _Teach Me Tonight _and _Help Wanted _and wrote the first chapter of this story. Hey, anyone remember that this was just supposed to be a one shot? Then I started writing it and it just kept writing itself. Strange how that happens. I'm so glad there's people there who have been reading this the whole time, espcially **Ronata **and **hollywoodgrl **who have reviewed almost every chapter that I can remember. I appreciate all my other consistent and not so consistent reviewers as well, I'm going to try to look through this weekend and thank you all next chapter. I think I'm about halfway through so there's much more to come.** And please help me celebrate by giving me lots of reviews! Just tell me one thing you like, it doesn't even have to be from this chapter, or tell me one thing that you'd like changed.**

Here's another light fluffy chapter. I wanted to do something special for this chapter but the characters aren't at the point to do anything really special, but I realized it's almost Thanksgiving their time and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday so that's why I'm doing this chapter. I think one of the cutest moments ever on GG is the S3 Thanksgiving episode when they're at Luke's and when Luke gets up to go get the marshmellows, Lorelai takes the mashed potatoes off his plate all while carrying on a conversation with Rory. It's like they'd been married for 20 years or something. Just cute things like that are what made me like them before they were a them.

Ah the calm before the storm. I mean, I'm kidding, all my chapters are nice and fluffy. Right?

Oh and have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! I love having days off of school.

**Review Responses:**

**sarahb2007 **- It's not actually from that. It's my own version of Liz coming back. Basically, I like Liz. I wanted her to be in the story. I want to have her wedding come the end of the season. But here she came back earlier than she did on the show, considering that I'm just doing Thanksgiving now here. But Jess isn't coming back yet, so it's not like on the show.

**Babs25 **- Nope, probably didn't tell you much except that Lorelai's pregnancy is moving along, and maybe a little foreshadowing. I'm having fun doing some nice fluffy chapters as Lorelai and Luke get ready to be parents. Drama is forthcoming though. If you like fluffiness, appreciate these chapters while you can.

**GMBlovesAngel **- Hmm... Liz is in town because I like Liz. I like Kathleen Whilhoite. Loved her on ER too. And I wanted to introduce Lorelai to Liz before the kids are born. I wanted to bring Liz back like how they do it on the show but then it's right around when the twins are due and that wasn't good for me.

**Gymtig **- Thanks! Yeah, well no work yet until school's over but I do keep busy. Glad you like Liz, she'll play a more prominent role in the future I believe.

**borncountry88 **- Eh, I'm not a blonde either but I have blonde moments constantly. Jim Brickman is a piano player from Cleveland. His songs are all love songs, about half of them have lyrics. I love his music. You might have heard Martina McBride singing Valentine, that's actually Jim Brickman's song.

**Rach **- Thanks for the long review, probably the longest I've ever gotten, and I loved it. I'm so glad to have gotten you addicted. You made complete sense and that's really all I'm doing. I'm not trying to manipulate the characters at all, I think given the circumstances that Chris might do something like that, and I think ultimately he doesn't actually remember it or wish to at all because sober, in his right mind, Chris would never hurt Lorelai physically. I think it's what happened when he saw his goddess fall from the pedastel he put her on. I think the only real thing I've added in is some public affection for Luke and Lorelai which I think is entirely within their personalities just not in what ASP wanted for the show.

**smileyGGfan **- Yeah the line from Lorelai that you quoted was supposed to be cute. But it's also hard because often Luke doesn't say too much about what he's thinking or feeling except in WitS and AVV. I think he shows it more than says it on the show so sometimes I have to figure out how to get him to say what I want him to say without getting him out of character. Thanks for noticing that I'm about to hit the big chapter, I'm glad you've liked what you've read so far.

* * *

**Thanksgiving at Luke's**

With Lorelai starting her seventh month of pregnancy, she and Rory decided that this year it was best to have one Thanksgiving dinner and only one. So Lorelai convinced Luke to have everyone at the diner for dinner. With Sookie only a few weeks post labor, Luke agreed to do most of the cooking if Sookie would make the desserts, which she happily agreed to.

Luke has finished basting the turkey and walks out of the kitchen wiping his hands on his apron as Sookie walks in the diner carrying Davey. "It smells wonderful in here Luke," Sookie announces. "Look Davey, look at all the decorations." Sookie points at the decorations around the diner and hanging from the ceiling, smiling down at Davey. "What came over you Luke?"

"You think I did that?" Luke grunts. Sookie giggles.

"Well of course not, silly, but the place didn't get decorated on its own and you had to give permission and you normally only do that for Lorelai who isn't about to climb a ladder and put up decorations right now," Sookie reminds him. Luke smirks.

"April came over after breakfast and decorated the place."

"Is she coming for dinner?" Sookie asks.

"Who? April?" Sookie gives Luke a look. "Yeah, course she is. Anna too." Sookie raises an eyebrow. "Lorelai knows, she's met Anna before."

"Before she broke up with Christopher? Before you two were together? Before she got pregnant?" Luke sighs, wanting to get off this subject more than anything. Sookie smirks, knowing she's gotten to Luke.

"Where's your crazy husband?" Luke asks, easily evading Sookie's questions.

"Bringing in the pies," Sookie answers just as Jackson walks in carrying about 8 pies in boxes.

"Sookie, how many pies did you bake?" Luke wonders in exasperation.

"16."

"16! We're only having 16 people, each person does not need their own pie," Luke contends.

"Why not?"

"Well, for instance, I don't eat pie," Luke responds.

"Then Lorelai will eat yours, she loves pie," Sookie says logically.

"Oh good idea, why doesn't she just have the heart attack now and get it over with?" Luke grumbles.

"Can you just tell me where to put these pies, they're getting heavy!" Jackson complains.

"Why 16?" Luke asks, ignoring Jackson's whining.

"Well I wasn't sure what kind of pie each person likes. I mean you have to have pumpkin and apple and chocolate but then there's pecan and key lime and you've got to have cherry," Sookie chatters. Luke raises an eyebrow, his hands on his hips.

"Guys! Pies!" Jackson whines.

"You don't have to have cherry, there's no law that says you have to have cherry," Luke gripes.

"Yes you do have to have cherry because at the very least, everyone likes cherry."

"Yeah but then everyone will eat their favorite thinking that someone else will eat the cherry, knowing that everyone likes cherry, and then I'll be left with a whole cherry pie and 15 stuffed guests," Luke complains.

"Luke! Sookie!" Jackson shouts. They look over at him, having finally realized that he's been trying to get their attention. "Where should I put the pies?"

"Upstairs on the table," Luke responds, as if Jackson should have known that.

"Up? Stairs?" Jackson repeats with trepidation, fearfully looking towards the curtain.

"Yeah, if they're sitting out down here I'll never get Lorelai to eat healthy foods like turkey and green beans and my kids are going to be born with diabetes," Luke contends. Sookie giggles.

"Oh, Luke, that's not true," Sookie says. Luke glares at her.

"Just put the pies upstairs," Luke responds shortly. Jackson sighs, carrying the pies in the back. Patty, Babette and Morey walk in.

"It smells good in there, oh hoo, it smells good," Babette exclaims.

"Oh is this the new little one?" Patty asks, walking over to Sookie. Kirk and Lulu walk in just as Luke walks out of the back.

"Luke, my girlfriend wants to thank you for inviting her," Kirk calls. Luke shakes his head.

"Well, you're welcome Lulu, but Lorelai did the inviting," Luke replies.

"Where is Lorelai?" Sookie asks.

"She's been having trouble getting up the stairs lately so she's been sleeping on the couch in living room of the house. Rory's going to stop by and pick her up," Luke says.

"She's a sweet girl, that one," Babette comments.

"Who are we talking about, this one?" Anna asks, pushing April in the door ahead of her. Babette and Patty share a look, but Luke just flashes one of his rare smiles.

"Hey there," Luke says. April runs over to him and they share a one arm hug. "You've been getting a lot of compliments on your decorations," Luke tells April.

"Good, we've been working since September at school on those turkeys," April responds, pointing at the centerpieces.

"Well they're quite lovely, Dear, almost good enough to eat," Patty says.

"You can't eat those!" April exclaims as they all laugh. Jackson walks down the stairs and outside to go get the rest of the pies with Liz and TJ following him. TJ is grumbling about having to do work even though it's just carrying in a few pies. Mrs. Kim and Lane walk in.

"Luke, since I am not having a dinner of my own this year, I brought my holiday special, tofurky," Mrs. Kim says, carrying a large tray in her arms. Lane looks down at the ground, trying not to be associated with this. Even Sookie wrinkles her nose in disgust. Luke walks over and lifts up the foil to get a look at the food.

"Looks good Mrs. Kim, I'll take it back and heat it up in the oven," Luke offers.

"It's warm enough, it's better when cold," Mrs. Kim responds. Luke nods. He motions for her to put the tray on the long table that has been set up by just putting the diner tables together.

"Are you really going to serve that?" Sookie asks Luke under her breath. Luke glances behind him at her and nods. "It might kill you."

"Just because it's healthy doesn't mean you shouldn't eat it," Luke replies.

"Hey Adkins, I know that," Sookie insists, but doesn't finish her response as Rory opens the door, helping her mother walk in before her.

"Hey everyone," Lorelai says. Luke immediately walks over to her.

"You okay?" he asks first, touching her elbow. Lorelai nods smiling, leaning in and kissing him, laying her hand on his chest. "Hi," he greets her in his low, almost flirtatious voice. Lorelai grins as they kiss again. "Hey Rory," Luke says in his normal voice. She waves. Luke wraps an arm around Rory's shoulders, hugging her to him quickly.

"Hey Dad," Rory replies. Luke can't help but grin again.

"Come on, you look like you could use a seat," Luke says, taking Lorelai's hand in his. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Luke leads her to a center chair at the table. Morey pulls out the chair as Luke helps Lorelai sit down.

"Wow, I feel like I'm made of glass," Lorelai jokes, sharing a smile with Sookie.

"Hi Lorelai," April says, taking a seat next to Lorelai. "You like my turkeys, don't you?" Lorelai glances at the center pieces and nods, smiling.

"They're the perfect addition to the table," Lorelai responds. She glances up at Luke who stands behind her, his hands on his shoulders. He beams down at her. "Hey Anna," Lorelai says. Anna lifts up a hand in a quick wave. "Glad you could come."

"Well April really likes her dad's cooking," Anna responds.

"Speaking of which, is everything ready? Because I'm starved!" Lorelai exclaims. Rory laughs.

"You're always starved," Rory teases. She sits down on the other side of Lorelai, patting the seat next to her for Lane. Luke nods.

"Let's eat," he announces. Everyone begins clamoring for a seat. Anna sits a few seats away from Lorelai and motions for April to move a seat down to sit next to her so that Luke can sit next to Lorelai. Jackson and Morey follow Luke into the kitchen to help him carry out the dinner.

"Wow, Lorelai, you look like you're ready to pop any second," Babette comments from down the table.

"And I still have three months to go," Lorelai complains.

"I can't believe how big you are, were you this big last time?" Liz asks. Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, last time when I had three months to go I was still trying to figure out if I would still be able to run away with the Bangles," Lorelai jokes. "This one was always little." She pinches Rory's cheek as Rory rolls her eyes.

"Well, there is an extra kid in there," Luke comments as he carries out the turkey, having already sliced it.

"Anyone need a baby? We've got an extra!" Lorelai announces like a paperboy.

"Lorelai…" Luke warns.

"Rory, are you excited to finally be a big sister?" Patty asks.

"Well I already am," Rory replies, winking at April, who blushes in delight. Jackson, Luke and Morey set the different dishes on the table and everyone begins serving, passing, talking and eating.


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes:**

Back from my long weekend. Isn't family fun? Guess it depends on the family... Okay so here goes for my big giant thankyou:

_borncountry88, Ronata, hollywoodgrl, squiddrude, starfire192486, Mirax Corran, OkGoPrettyMuchRules, Robinpoppins, sapphirestar820, Elizabeth Theresa, pixiechick12, Finding Disco, Cherrykisses188, roywthepoodles, litizreal, LukeAndLorelaiAllways, bluedaisy05, Javamaniac, suusje32, tom, LukelovesLorelai, bellybuttonsrcool, sarahb2007, chmelms, TheCoffeeBean, HeartGilmoreGrls, LorLukealways, aries-chica56, Alyssa1120, GGRox07, Gymtig, Lukelorelaichick, sugary sweet, LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict, EffieLaura, GMB loves Angel, BluJPlover, Nubes, tooky close pin, Rachaellovestoread, Christi06, A-Karana, smileyGGfan, ACE5203, LLfreak8285, scubaluver, JavaJunkieManiac, coffeebean2007, CharmedGurlie, Roxton7, nikkitan89, Babs25, Baron Sengir, mediaMental  
_

Whew! I think I got everyone that reviewed at least a few times. I know I got my regulars in there (and you know who you are and how much I appreciate you) but I went searching to find those that have reviewed a few chapters here or there. So here's a big **thank you** from me to you for all of your reviews, I've appreciated every one of them, they're really what keeps me writing! And I hope you like the second half of the story as much as the first!

**LorLukealways **- You know I'm trying not to make this Anna like the one on the show because I disagree with showAnna so much, so I really am not putting much of her except a few lines here or there until I can figure out exactly what to do with her. I don't want her to be a Chris-like conflict, I've already made it pretty clear that Lorelai's okay with her and she doesn't really have much of a problem with Lorelai hanging with April.

**Babs25 **- You know, I thought it was mashed potatoes only because Luke just go up to get some more, but maybe she was just saying we need more because she was going to take his. I can't really tell. But Luke is a sweetheart, I agree. When I watch GG with my boyfriend I always tease him and say he should be more like Luke.

**GMB loves Angel** - Glad to get you laughing, that's what my comedy is for. The good lines are the ones I laugh at when I'm editing and forgot what I wrote. But you probably know that. I've been trying to get around to reading your story, it's the longer ones that take me awhile to get to. (Comfort Food is yours right?) Hopefully when school is over in three weeks I'll have more time to sit and read through some of the longer stories I've missed. Isn't writing longer stories hard? I mean, I've had trouble in the past because I guess I just get bored with them.

**LukeLorelaiAllways **- Very interesting little factoid. Please pass on the message thanking him for my friends going no-carb crazy the past few years. Not me, I love carbs. That's why I run. :)

**sarahb2007 **- Okay, I'll promise no babies on V-day. I hate Valentine's Day almost as much as Luke, which my boyfriend duly appreciates. And yes, drama is forthcoming.

**Robinpoppins **- I'm so jealous that you got to go to DC! It's my favorite city in the world, thus why I usually mention Rory moving there in all my stories. I can't tell you what I have planned next but I've already begun foreshadowing it so watch for that. Still working on baby names. I think that I'm just over halfway so the story will be about 90-100 chapters in total and I've already started considering a sequel, so if you like this story then I guess you'll be happy.

Now, on to some real story material.

* * *

**Luke's Diner**

Early in the morning, Luke is getting the diner ready for the day. He's cleaned the tables and he's now sweeping the floor when Kirk walks in carrying a briefcase. "Luke, I was wondering if you like the brand of your muffins," Kirk asks. Luke pauses in his work and glares at Kirk.

"Kirk, it is six-thirty in the morning, how can you possibly care about the brand of my muffins?"

"Well I can see that you don't," Kirk comments laying his briefcase on a table. Luke shakes his head and goes back to sweeping. "What I have here are the recipes of the new muffins currently being made by Mrs. Smith's Baking Company."

"I don't even want to know why you have those," Luke grumps, still shaking his head.

"Recently, I've been hired by the company to promote the new muffins at local dining establishments," Kirk tells Luke.

"And you thought you would try my diner first to see how much you can piss a proprietor off?"

"Well… I…" Kirk trails off, unsure of exactly what to say to get Luke to listen to him. Luke again pauses, glaring at Kirk, who seems slightly shocked by Luke's response. "These are new muffins. I just thought if your current muffins aren't selling well…" Luke sighs.

"Kirk, if my current muffins weren't selling, it wouldn't be because of the recipe. It would be because recently people aren't that interested in muffins," Luke explains logically.

"Oh." Luke shakes his head. He leans the broom against a table and walks behind the counter. "I'm just saying these are really good muffins," Kirk maintains.

"They are? Have you tried them?" Luke asks, knowing what the answer is going to be. He begins arranging items on the counter.

"Well… I… I'm not really a big muffin-eater," Kirk admits. Luke again shakes his head. "I've just heard good things about them…" Kirk pauses for a moment. "I'm guessing you're not interested in trying them out on a trial basis."

"No Kirk."

"Sometime Luke, you're going to learn to like change. Change is good," Kirk comments. Luke glances up at him and sighs. He picks up a towel and starts wiping down the counter..

"I don't mind change," Luke insists. Kirk steps back, having prepared for Luke to yell at him, but stops. Then Luke glances around the diner consideringly. "I repainted the place," Luke notes, waving the towel at the green walls.

"Actually Lorelai repainted the place. And she used the same colors that were already here."

"Well I like those colors." Kirk glances around the place again and then shakes his head. "I don't care if you like the colors, Kirk."

"Luke, your father's sign is still outside. When's the last time this place was a hardware store?"

"It's called an homage Kirk." Luke moves to the tables and starts wiping them down. "It goes back to medieval France."

"Regardless, Luke, you don't like change, plain and simple."

"Okay, Kirk, you're starting to annoy me now." Kirk picks up his briefcase off the table. Luke stops wiping and looks at him. "My life has changed. I'm with Lorelai. I live at Lorelai's. We're having twins. I have a daughter, April. Any of those not a change from a year ago?"

"Yes but you still keep things upstairs, plus I notice you call your house Lorelai's," Kirk mentions. Luke glares at him. "Oh, all right, I'll leave it alone. You don't have to be like me, I'm willing to change my life everyday. But maybe you wouldn't be such a grump all the time if you just changed your life to the way you want it." Kirk shrugs and walks out. Luke shakes his head and goes back to wiping down the counter.

* * *

**Lorelai's House**

"Lorelai!" Sookie yells, banging on the door. Lorelai's on the couch, practically asleep. The banging on the door causes her to open her eyes a crack but she doesn't respond. Sookie gives up and opens the door herself, which is troublesome considering that she's got Davey in her arms. "Lorelai!" Sookie calls again, shutting the door behind her.

When she gets into the living room, she notices Lorelai on the couch. "Oh Sweetie, I'm sorry, I should have called first," Sookie apologizes. Lorelai waves her arm and tries to move with little success.

"No, Sook, it's fine. I'm glad you came over. I missed you, almost as much as I've missed the outside world," Lorelai complains. Sookie frowns.

"When's the last time you got out?" Lorelai shrugs.

"It's been hard this past week. Luke's been really busy and I haven't been feeling very well."

"Oh Honey." Sookie walks over and settles herself on the couch at Lorelai's feet. "I can almost say I know how you're feeling. The last few weeks before Davey was born, I was so uncomfortable and miserable." Lorelai pouts.

"I'm not even in my eighth month for another week!" Lorelai whines. Sookie pats Lorelai's leg, in sympathy.

"Here, something to make you happy, why don't you hold Davey?" Sookie offers. Lorelai moves her hands to take Davey but hesitates, drawing them back, a concerned look on her face.

"No, it's okay," Lorelai says. Sookie looks at her strangely and then shrugs. She looks down at Davey smiling, reaching a finger to pet Davey's little hand. Lorelai, who would normally smile at such as scene, looks a little tense. "You seem like you're doing well," Lorelai comments. Sookie glances over at Lorelai still smiling.

"Yeah, I mean you told me how amazing it is the first time you hold your child, but I never imagined this." Sookie looks back down at Davey. "No I couldn't, could I? No Davey. No." She giggles as Davey gurgles.

"Did Luke tell you that the new freezer will be in on Wednesday?" Lorelai asks, trying to get Sookie's attention back on track. Sookie nods, still playing with Davey. Lorelai sighs. "Sookie! This is important!" Sookie looks back over at Lorelai in surprise.

"Yeah, Lorelai, I heard you! Jeez, I know mood swings, but yours isn't swinging, the pendulum's stuck on grumpy." Lorelai sighs.

"Sorry, Sook," Lorelai responds.

"Oh hey, Tom said to give this to you," Sookie remembers. She takes a piece of paper out of her coat pocket and hands it to Lorelai. She watches as Lorelai reads it, a frown returning to Lorelai's face. "Well that doesn't seem to be good news." Lorelai raises an eyebrow at her.

"When have we ever gotten good news from Tom?" Sookie shrugs. "He said the pipes aren't going to be able to go in the way he planned so he's going to have to take them in a different direction which is going to cost us another couple thousand." Sookie's mouth drops open as she stares at Lorelai. "You have another couple thousand sitting around?" Sookie shakes her head. "Me either."

"I've given you almost all that I can. Jackson's got less business now with us not buying from him and the Independence closing, plus we haven't worked in awhile, plus Davey here isn't the cheapest person in the world," Sookie tells Lorelai, who nods knowingly.

"Boy are you talking to someone who knows what you're saying. Rory's college is paid for but I'm still giving her money as often as I can for food and clothes. Plus, the money for the inn and redoing this place. And then the addition of these two, my money's all gone." Lorelai rubs a hand over her bourgeoning belly, sighing in frustration. "What are we going to do?" Lorelai asks, biting her lower lip, her voice trembling a little. "I feel like we're going to have to give up on our dreams."

"No!" Sookie responds quickly. She reaches over and touches Lorelai's hand. "We can't do that. We won't. There are other options."

"What? I don't think Davey's old enough for us to sell him off to the gypsies."

"Lorelai!"

"Joke. Sorry," Lorelai looks down. She wrings her hands.

"What about Luke?" Sookie suggests. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"What about Luke?" Lorelai asks, not understanding.

"Well, you two are raising the twins together, he should be putting in money for them and the house. And maybe for Rory and you could also ask him for a loan." Lorelai shrugs.

"Luke's not Mr. Moneybags himself. Besides, I can't bring myself to ask him for money for those things. When I left my parents, I promised myself that I would never take a handout, I would make it on my own, no matter what I had to do, Rory would have everything she needed and I would get us it, on my own," Lorelai explains. "I can't go be a hypocrite now."

"But Lorelai…"

"No, Sookie. No. I'm still that same person. I'm independent. The one time I gave up that independence was for Rory, so that she could achieve all her dreams, and I've regretted it every day. I don't want to be beholden to anyone, ever. Not even Luke, especially not Luke. I'd feel cheep. I'd feel like less of a person. I'd feel like I'm not strong enough to do it myself. Everyone else can do it but I have to go running to my boyfriend," Lorelai rants. Sookie nods, understanding but not sharing Lorelai's point of view. "Remember in Little Women, when Marmee needed money to go visit Mr. March in the hospital?" Sookie thinks about it, and nods after a moment. "She told Jo to go ask Aunt March for the money. And even though she knew Aunt March would give it her in a heartbeat, she didn't want to feel like her aunt had control over her. Her pride was more important to her. Jo got the money, but she got it on her own."

"Yeah, she had to sell her beautiful hair, one of the things she loved most," Sookie says. Lorelai shrugs.

"But she got the money on her own. She still had her pride, she still felt like she could stand on the same ground with Aunt March and the rest of the world, like she could look them in the eye," Lorelai maintains. Sookie stares at her.

"So what you're saying is that you are Jo March." Lorelai nods. "June Allyson or Winona?" Lorelai scoffs.

"June Allyson of course," Lorelai replies as if it were an obvious choice. She sighs. "I had to give up my pride once and until I paid my parents back I felt like I wasn't good enough, I couldn't do things on my own and I hated feeling like that. I can't do it again." Sookie sighs. "You don't have any more money?"

"I'm pretty strapped," Sookie says. Lorelai wrings her hands, clearly unsure of what to do next.

"Right about now I wish I could be nearly killed by a crook named Quigley." Lorelai pouts. Sookie giggles.

"I can't imagine you getting on a bike right now," Sookie comments. Lorelai slowly smiles, trying to imagine it herself. She looks up at Sookie, shaking her head. "Try to be the optimist you've always been Lorelai. We've got a lot on our plates right now and if you get really depressed I'm not sure I can handle this all on my own. I need you Lorelai." Lorelai nods. Davey whimpers. Sookie looks down at him. "Well, little Davey here is trying to tell me it's time to go. I'll try to stop by after Christmas." Lorelai nods. "Let me know if you talk to Luke or you know, find a thousand dollars worth of change in the couch." Lorelai giggles.

"So that's why this couch is so uncomfortable." Sookie smiles. "Bye Sookie." Sookie stands, waving Davey's arm, and walks out. Lorelai watches her go, her eyes becoming misty again. She closes her eyes and lays her head back. "Kids, you guys got any ideas, cuz Mommy's fuse is getting a little short. Sookie needs me. Your sister needs me. Your daddy needs me. And Tom needs my money. And my parents need me to be Bunny Buttercup." She sighs. "I'm only one person."


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes**:

Hey all, please check out my new oneshot if you haven't. **This Rain Will Take Away What's Past.** It's a finale denial fic, so it's actually happy.

**Babs25 **- Kirk holds a special place in my heart. I love him. But I try to not to use him too often because too much Kirk can get annoying.

**scubaluver **- I know what you mean about V-Day. My birthday is exactly a week after, in fact it's the date I used for the duedate of the twins. So it always bothered me when people thought VDay was more important than my birthday. I'm like Lorelai, no day is more important than my birthday! Yup, Lorelai's gotta watch that independent attitude of hers, but so far she hasn't had any reason to give that up. It's always worked for her and thus far there's been nothing to show that it won't continue to work for her.

**sarahb2007 **- The due date for the twins is February 21st and she's having a boy and a girl. It was revealed about ten chapters back when they went to the doctor's office. Hey, did you notice my dedication to you? Oh and I forgot to congratulate you a few chapters back on being my 600th review!

**GMB loves Angel** - That's exactly how I feel about long stories like this. Most short ones I can map out so I have a plan before I actually write the thing but long ones like this just keep going, different plots intersecting until everything's resolved, at least as best as possible, and there's a good place to end it. Hah, but then again there's alway a chance for a sequel if everything's not resolved.

**squiddrude **- Lane was in the last chapter, though she didn't have many lines. I think Lane will be in a few chapters in the future, especially once she moves to Rory's and then Lorelai's after her concert like she did in the 4th season. I love that you do the same thing I do, spelling weird like wierd. My best friend always harrasses me about that, thank God for spell check or it would be like that in all my stories.

**smileyGGfan **- Foreshadowing? Hmm... read on and find out. Eh, the financial stuff, I always have to go back to the Incredible Shrinking Lorelai's and my favorite scene ever, which I know I've mentioned that before. I think he is helping out, you know, but not with the inn or Rory and I don't think she's letting him in on that kind of a thing, because she's Jo. Glad you're excited for the second half because it's going to be quite a ride.

**nikkitan89 **- You've been giving me such beautiful reviews but I haven't had much to reply to so I finally something to respond to and I also wanted to thank you for your heartfelt reviews! Please believe that they mean a lot to me even when I don't reply to you directly! Poor Lorelai is right, stuck is not quite the word I'd use, but I see what you're getting at. I think it's hard to be independent like she is and not feel so alone in the world.

**rach **- You mean the pie conversation? Yup, I've seen the interview, that's where the idea was from. Just a throwback to anyone who's actually seen the interview. Haha. Funny that you're actually the first to point that out. I think not only is Lorelai well written but well acted, LG is amazing and she can do so much. But, yeah, she's fun to write, and easy, Rory's hard for me to write, I'll admit it. Even Luke is easier because he and Kirk and everyone all have their quirks, but Rory's just Rory.

**roywthepoodles **- Lorelai's just entering her 8th month so babies are on their way soon. Still working on the names. Stay tuned!

* * *

** Rory's Dorm**

Luke knocks on the door of Rory's dorm room. He shoves his hands in his pockets as he waits, glancing around at all the students passing by who are looking at him strangely. Suddenly the door opens revealing Paris, who has a surprised look on her face. "Paris," Luke grunts, as he steps beside her into the room.

"Mel," Paris responds, closing the door behind him. "Come to tell me the truth about the seedy underbelly of Stars Hallow?" Luke stares at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Have you been talking to Lorelai?" Paris stares at him like he's crazy. "Forget it."

"Whatever," Paris responds. Rory walks out of her room.

"Dad!" she exclaims, extremely happy to see him. She runs over, throwing her arms around him. Luke hesitates but hugs her back. Paris watches with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey Rory," Luke says in the most excited tone of his.

"I'm so glad you called to drop by for a visit."

"Well I wanted to see you," Luke explains.

"Aw, Dad, you old softy," Rory teases. Luke gives her a look. She grins. She glances over at Paris who is staring at them.

"Uh, why don't we go get some dinner in the dining hall?" Rory suggests, realizing that both she and Luke would be more comfortable away from Paris. Luke nods. "Paris, have a good evening, play nice with the girls, and try not to glue your fingers together during craft time this time." She motions for Luke to follow her and they walk out. Rory locks the door behind her. "So, is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't everything be okay?" Luke asks. Rory shrugs.

"I don't know, I was just checking." Luke nods, like he's not really sure she was just checking. "You still okay? I know being a Dad has got to have you a little spooked." Luke shrugs.

"Not as much as you would think. You've been a pretty good guinea pig daughter."

"Well, you're a good Dad," Rory responds, smiling.

"Yeah, about that…" Luke says, not exactly sure how to phrase his next question. Rory look at him, waiting for him to finish. "Rory, I know you're angry with your father right now, but he's not going to be happy when he finds out you're calling me Dad."

"You don't want me to?" Rory asks, a little saddened by this.

"No, of course, I do," Luke answers quickly. Rory nods. "It's just, you have a father. Don't you think that you'll eventually be on good terms with him again?" Rory shrugs.

"I really don't know," Rory admits. "I can't forgive him for what he did to Mom. I don't know how Mom can, but I really can't. I know you and Mom shouldn't have done what you did, but that's no excuse for his actions, not to me. It's inexcusable. And I'll tell him that. I'm sorry, but with me that's just the way it is. Mom's always been there for me, she's my best friend, and I can forgive her for anything. But Chris hasn't. There was about a year when he called me once a week but that was it and I was 17 by then. Until I was 10, I barely heard from him. He never remembered and he never cared to." She reaches out and touches Luke's arm. "But you did. You always made me a top priority. Even with all the Jess stuff. You were more fatherly to me than anyone else. So you win, you get to be Dad. But only if you want," Rory says, leaving him an option out. She looks up at him with hope in her eyes. Luke smiles softly.

"Rory, I would be honored to have you call me Dad," Luke says. The simple sentence meaning more than almost anything she's heard in her life and she throws her arms around him again.

"Thanks. And thanks for always being there," she whispers. They pause their walking just standing there for a moment. "And I know George and Martha are going to love having you as a Dad."

"Ah, you have been talking to Lorelai," Luke says. Rory giggles.

"Have you thought about names yet?" Rory asks.

"Some, we really should make more of an effort. Those kids are going to hate us if we don't discuss it and actually end up naming them George and Martha," Luke realizes.

"We couldn't have that!" Rory exclaims, seriously. "Come on, this is the dining hall." She motions with her head. They walk inside and get their meals and walk to a table to sit across from each other and eat. "But Mom's okay?"

"You haven't talked to her?"

"Not today, yesterday, just thought I'd make sure she wasn't lying," Rory says. Luke smiles, nodding.

"She's good. She's bored. You know your mom. She's seven, almost eight, months pregnant and she never feels well and she's cranky and she's stuck on the couch most of the day watching TV, which leaves me to play go between with Sookie so that the Dragonfly will open on time. And thank God for Lane, because if she wasn't working in the diner whenever I needed her, I'd be losing a lot of customers."

"Well I know Lane is glad to have the excuse of working all the time at the diner so that she doesn't have to come up with excuses for getting out of her house," Rory tells him.

"Good. Glad to be of service."

"And I'm sure Mom's glad for your help. She said now that you've moved in, it's made things a lot easier for her."

"Yeah she doesn't have to get up to fetch the remote control."

"Or change the video tape," Rory adds.

"Well this actually leads me to why I came to see you," Luke segues.

"You didn't just come to spend time with your guinea pig daughter, I'm hurt," Rory says, pouting, pretending to be hurt. Luke shakes his head, taking a bite of food. "Go on."

"Well Lorelai and her father aren't that close," Luke begins. Rory raises an eyebrow.

"Man, you are the king of segues." Luke chuckles. "I'm just saying, that really sucked."

"You'll understand in a moment," Luke tells her. Rory motions for him to continue as she goes back to eating. "Well they're not close. And I know it's important to get permission, or probably not to most people, but it is to Lorelai, cuz she's crazy, and cuz she likes traditional things, or at least traditions, like Topol."

"Actually Tevye, Topol was just the actor but I get what you're saying about traditions," Rory notes.

"Yes, traditions…" Luke pauses to eat, having lost his train of thought. "Oh, yeah, okay so since Lorelai's not close to her father, I thought you would be a better person to ask for permission."

"Permission for what? Yes, Dad you may go to the science museum."

"No, for her hand in marriage," Luke inserts quickly. Rory's mouth drops open in surprise. Luke sets his fork down. "I think I went about this wrong."

"No, I just…" She looks down at her plate, thinking this over.

"Is it too soon, Rory? Too soon to ask you, since the last was your father?" Luke seems very worried. Rory looks up at him, a soft smile on her face.

"No, that's not it. Dad, that is the most wonderful thing you've ever done. I'm in awe. To ask permission, it's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for my mom," Rory explains, a sense of awe in her voice.

"Oh, well…" Luke looks down, embarrassed.

"Dad, it means a lot to me too, that you would ask me. Max didn't. Chris didn't. I was just something that went along with marriage to my mother, they both would have been just as happy marrying Mom if I wasn't around, even Chris. I was the tag along in her life. She was the important thing. And I'm not saying she shouldn't be, but I just wanted to feel included. Like they were glad to have me be a part of the whole thing. Like they were happy to be getting mom and I was a special bonus gift." Rory watches Luke for a moment. "I mean I know I'm not at home that much now, but isn't that why you asked?" Luke nods.

"Rory, if and when I marry your mom, I want you to be included. I want you to know I'm proud to have you as part of my family." Rory smiles. "Don't call me a softy," Luke warns. Rory laughs. "And I want you to know, I know your mom's been engaged a lot in the past few years, and I should probably wait, but I just can't. I want her to know this is permanent. Me living there. The twins. You. April. The whole thing. The whole package. Me fetching the remote for her."

"There's where the segue was," Rory notices. Luke chuckles. "I know it's different this time. You can see it in her eyes."

"Can you?"

"I can." Luke takes a bite, smiling to himself. "Dad, I need to say this, just because I'm her daughter. Don't you dare hurt her, and I don't just mean physically, I mean in any way. Too many times I've come home and found her sobbing into her pillow, unable to get up, unable to move, and I don't ever want to find that again. So if you want to marry her, mean it."

"Rory, I'm promising you now, I would never hurt Lorelai, never." Rory nods, satisfied.

"So, you need help picking a ring?" Rory asks. Luke shakes his head. "I mean I know her best."

"I know her pretty well," Luke says, smiling. "And she's made me prove it."


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes:**

Sure it's no longer June 3rd, but I'm still going to pimp my new oneshot **A Midnight Meeting** cause it's some good LL fluff and who doesn't want that? **  
**

**aries-chica56 - **There was a Jess in the story. He got sent home when Luke found out he told Chris about Lorelai cheating on him. But I've said before he'll come back eventually, and he will. But I think after Luke and Lorelai marry it would just be weird for Jess and Rory to get together, they'd be cousins. Especially with Rory refering to Luke as her dad.

**LorLukealways - **You know, I don't know the real answer as to why Lorelai always forgives Christopher, but I think a lot of it has to do with him being Rory's father. I think she feels that if she holds a grudge against Chris, then Rory will, and she doesn't want to be the reason that Rory holds a grudge against her own father.

**GMB loves Angel** - Yup that's how it is with me too. When I started the story Lorelai was going to break up with Christopher for another very-unLorelai reason. Things had to be changed and because of that I've had to deal with the whole how Rory deals with the situation thing. And just little things like that get added in and have to be dealt with later on, like Anna, still haven't figured out what to do with her yet. Plus, since this is following the show at some points, I still have to throw that in.

**sarahb2007 **- The dedication was in my recent oneshot because you kept saying in your reviews that you were so worried that Luke and Lorelai weren't going to get back together so I dedicated the story where they do get back together to you. So you'd be happy ;)

**Rach **- I wonder if that is the point of the show... is it to see Rory's development or Lorelai's? And if it was Lorelai's, which I thought it was, she had certainly progressed until the scene I hesitate to mention. I think the thing with writing Rory is she doesn't have any distinct quirks. She likes coffee, but not like Lorelai. She uses pop references and jokes around but not like Lorelai. To me, Rory's not the onion that Lorelai is.

**lUKE iS MY HERO** - Glad you're liking it so far. I always like to hear from new fans.

**smileyGGfan **- I'm not sure what you thought I was foreshadowing, but the Kirk scene was to convince Luke to change things a bit. I don't mind your criticism, I don't mind knowing what people think should be changed. I think a lot of the Rory saying Dad stuff was her trying to get used to it. She probably won't use it as often anymore. E&R know about the twins, that was the last dinner that Lorelai went to and stalked out of, which is why they haven't been in the story since, they will come back of course. I know you're a sucker for alliteration but Louie? (jk) I promise the girl's name won't be Lucy or Loren though.

* * *

**Lorelai's House**

Lorelai is on the couch, as usual as of late, directing Luke on how best to decorate the Christmas tree. "No, Luke, too much popcorn. There has to be enough left over for Rory and me to stuff ourselves with," Lorelai nags. Luke huffs, setting down the popcorn bowl he was holding.

"Lorelai, the popcorn isn't good for you," Luke tells her.

"According to you, nothing is good for me except celery and water. I feel like a prisoner of war," Lorelai complains. Luke shakes his head picking up another box of ornaments. He sifts through it, picking out the ornaments he likes as Lorelai watches him, letting him actually decorate the tree himself for a minute.

As he starts putting up a few of the ornaments, he glances over at her and says, "Hey you never told me, are you sure you're okay with celebrating Christmas today?" Lorelai gives him a strange look.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He shrugs.

"Cuz Christmas is actually tomorrow," Luke replies.

"Yes, but you remember I grew up celebrating Christmas two weeks early. In fact, I've celebrated Christmas two weeks early as long as I can remember," Lorelai recalls wistfully.

"And you were okay with that?"

"As long as there were apple tarts, Lorelai was happy," she says grinning. Luke chuckles and goes back to decorating the tree. "Luke, we can do it every year this way if you want because I know it means something for you to have April here to celebrate with us."

"Well, maybe one year Anna will let her come on Christmas Day," Luke considers. When Lorelai doesn't respond, he glances over at her and sees her expression. "Are you telling me you never let Christopher take Rory on Christmas Day?" Lorelai crosses her arms thinking this over.

"He never wanted to," she responds.

"Ah."

"Okay, one time he did, but it was when he had moved to Boston and was living with Sherry so Rory was 17 by then."

"But did you even let her go then?" Luke asks, pausing his decorating while she answers.

"Yes, and she didn't want to go anyways," Lorelai answers quickly. She looks down, sighing. "Well actually, I didn't tell her that Chris called and offered to have her over until a few days before," Lorelai admits. Luke raises an eyebrow. "I guess I understand Anna's point of view a little bit. Rory spent all her time during school studying so when she got a break I wanted her to spend it with me. I still do." Luke nods. He goes back to decorating.

"Hey, are you doing okay?" he asks. Lorelai looks at him curiously as he glances over at her. "I'm just saying you haven't been your usual sparkly self for a few weeks and I just wanted to check that it wasn't something more than you just missing coffee." Lorelai shrugs.

"I guess I just get bored and cranky sitting here in the house all day. I'm going to get bed sores," she claims.

"You're not going to get bed sores, I'll make sure to flip you to your other side before you do," Luke promises. "That's what I'm here for, to turn you when you need me."

"Dirty," Lorelai says, but not with the same excitement as usual. She plays a little with the blanket covering her. "Luke, are you all set with money?" He glances back over at her from hanging the ornaments.

"Do you need more money for the remodeling?" he asks.

"Uh, no, I was just – I don't know what I was asking…" Lorelai bites her lower lip nervously.

"Lorelai, I have money put away for the twins and April and any other kids we may have and even Rory if she needs it, you don't have to worry about that," Luke tells her. Lorelai nods slowly.

"I'm not, I'm just making sure." She sighs, waving it off with her hands. "I don't know, where this came from," she says softly.

"Well if you need any…"

"I don't," she responds quickly, even interrupting him. Luke watches her expression and then goes back to his work.

"Lucy! I'm home!" they hear Rory call as she walks in the house.

"We're in here!" Lorelai calls. She glances over her shoulder, smiling when Rory and April walk in the room. "Welcome to Christmas in Connecticut, starring Lorelai Gilmore as Barbara Stanwyck!"

"Who's Barbara Stanwyck?" April asks. Lorelai opens her mouth in shock.

"Lorelai, you have to remember that some people don't spend their entire lives watching movies," Luke warns her.

"Who are these people?"

"Yes tell us," Rory adds.

"We shall search them out," Lorelai says.

"Make a circle around them and hold hands."

"Repeat quotes from famous movies until they give in." April giggles.

"Well I'm sure they'll know when to give in, I learned pretty quickly," Luke grumbles. Lorelai and Rory share a smile. "April, why don't you come over here and finish decorating the tree. I'm sure Lorelai will be nicer to you." Lorelai gives him her 'who me' look. "I'm going to go see if breakfast is ready." He walks into the kitchen. Lorelai motions for Rory to join her on the couch as April continues the decorating process.

"So, I have to ask, was it strange for you?" Lorelai asks Rory cryptically. Rory shakes her head in confusion. "Last night." Rory still looks confused. "I mean with it not being just us girls." She gives Rory a look, hoping she'll understand.

"Ah, well you do remember that you were the one wigging out last time it wasn't just us girls, with Max," Rory reminds her mother, glancing over at April to make sure she's being cryptic enough.

"Yeah, it just doesn't feel that strange this time."

"That's because this time it's right," Rory responds, patting her mother's leg. Lorelai smiles to herself. "So have you guys decided on names yet?" Rory asks as Luke walks back in the room.

"All we've decided on is that they're not being named George and Martha," Luke grumbles. Lorelai snickers. "Apparently breakfast is going to take longer than I thought."

"Presents!" Lorelai exclaims, more excited than she's been in awhile.

"What are you two years old?" Luke asks. Lorelai nods vigorously.

"Wowewai want pwethent," Lorelai gurgles. Luke glares at her. April giggles. "Pwease Wuke, pwetty pwease?"

"Not even born yet, and the twins are already more mature than you," Luke remarks. Rory smirks. He sighs. "Okay, okay, presents."

"Yay!" Lorelai exclaims, clapping her hands together. Luke smiles, glad to see Lorelai in a good mood for a change. He sits on the floor by the tree and April sits down next to him. She helps him pass out gifts to everyone and they all begin opening them. "Oh, Luke, don't forget the package in the corner for Rory." Rory glances at Lorelai.

"Gramma gave me my gift at the Christmas party," Rory tells her.

"It's from your dad, Sweets," Lorelai says.

"My dad is here," Rory retorts. Lorelai presses her lips together sadly. She glances over at Luke. "I don't want it, burn it, put it with the Jess box, I don't care," Rory mutters. As she says this, she doesn't look up, she just keeps opening her gift from Lorelai.

"Okay," Lorelai says softly. "We'll save it, one day you may want it." She looks over at Luke worried, but he nods to her. Lorelai takes a deep breath and goes back to opening her gift.

"Wow, the complete Anne of Green Gables series!" April exclaims. "That's exactly what I wanted, Dad." She throws her arms around Luke, who hugs her tightly. He glances up at Rory and mouths a thank you. "I'm surprised you didn't get me a Barbie or something."

"Yeah – well – I guess I'm learning," Luke stammers. April smiles and goes to open her next gift. Luke shares a look with Lorelai, who's snickering. He shakes his head at her.

"A complete boxset, all the top hits of the 80s," Lorelai says, smiling down at her gift from Luke.

"It seemed to be calling your name," Luke tells her.

"Yes it was," Lorelai concurs. She opens up the box, checking out the songs. Rory motions at Luke, trying to get his attention without Lorelai noticing. She points to her hand and Luke nods, holding up a finger.

"Hey, Lorelai, why don't I put one of the CDs in?" Luke suggests. Lorelai shrugs and hands him the box. Luke walks over to the CD player, puts one of the CDs in, picks a song and Phil Collins's _Groovy Kind of Love_ plays. He glances over at Rory who gives him a thumbs up.

"Good choice!" Lorelai exclaims, not really paying attention to what Luke's doing. She's looking at a booklet listing all of the songs. Luke walks over and kneels on both knees, on the floor next to Lorelai and takes her hand as if he wants to look at the booklet to. She moves the booklet so that he can look, glancing up at his serious expression, she sets the booklet down. "Luke? Are you okay?"

"Lorelai, that's not your real present," he says.

"You're taking my 80s music away?" Lorelai asks worried. She pouts.

"No, you can keep that, but I have something else to give you, if you'll answer this question for me."

"Okay…" Lorelai gives him a curious look. Luke takes a deep breath, looking deep into her eyes, gaining strength from the warmth of her touch and the beauty of her face and the emotions in her eyes.

"Lorelai, will you marry me?" Lorelai's eyes light up and she slowly begins to smile.

"Yes!" she exclaims, almost breathlessly. He flips her hand over and sets a box in it. Lorelai smiles at him for a moment, before opening the box, her eyes dancing. "Wow," she utters. Luke takes the box from her and puts the ring on her finger.

"It was my mother's. A few months before she died, she gave it to me. She said that one day I would meet a woman and picture myself giving her the ring and that would be the woman I would love for the rest of my life. And this one summer day about 7 years ago, this crazy woman came in my diner, bright blue eyes, long black tresses and an extreme caffeine addiction. The moment I met her, the moment we said our first words and I touched her hand for the first time, I could see myself giving her the ring. And today I'm fulfilling that," Luke says. Lorelai stares at him through misty eyes, her lips parted lightly in amazement.

"I – I – I'm speechless."

"It had to happen sometime," Luke teases. She smiles softly. "Lorelai, I was going to ask your father for permission to marry you because you like tradition," he says.

"Well so does Tevye," Lorelai jokes. Luke and Rory share a look.

"Yes, he does. But I want you to know, I didn't. I thought that you're not that close to him and so it wouldn't mean anything. But I did get permission to marry you." Lorelai furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

"From who?"

"From me," Rory says. Lorelai's face lights up again as she looks over at Rory. "And I was happy to grant it." Lorelai looks back at Luke in wonder.

"You are amazing," she tells him. He reaches up and brushes his fingers across her cheek before leaning in and kissing her. "Wait, this isn't finished yet." Luke looks a little nervous. Lorelai looks over at April. "April, do I have permission to marry your dad?" April squeals in delight at being included.

"Yes!" she exclaims. Lorelai holds her arms out to April, who runs into them, hugging her. Then she reaches her arms out to Rory, who gets up and walks over to hug Lorelai. After letting her daughter go, Lorelai glances from Rory to April to Luke, proud of the family sitting around her. "I finally have it," she whispers. "The whole package." Lorelai smiles, placing a hand over her belly. With her other hand, she reaches out and runs it through Luke's hair, pulling him in to kiss her again as she reaches the back of his head.

"We finally have it," Luke whispers to her, their faces still almost touching. Then he tilts his head capturing her lips with his once again.


	54. Chapter 54

**Notes:**

So I did my best with the proposal, tried to not make the whole thing too sickly sweet, but I'm not sure accomplished that. If you're wondering at all why Lorelai's response was what it was to the proposal, read my notes at the end of chap 8 or beginning of chap 10.

I hope you guys didn't think that was the end! A few people thought I seemed like I was ending it there and I really couldn't, there's so much more story to go!

**Rach **- Yes, I see your point about Rory's development and that sometimes we haven't really seen any. In fact, when I watch the pilot episode, I often wonder if she was more mature then, than many times throughout the series (case in point, visiting Anna's store when Lorelai specifically told her not to and then getting pissy when Lorelai got mad that she had gone to the store). No, the fic won't be never-ending. There is an end, but it's far from over. When it's the end, you'll know it.

**scubaluver **- Hmmm... ominous music, you really have been reading ;) That comment cracked me up.

**GMB loves Angel **- I didn't know that about European Christmas. Being Jewish, I really know very little about Christmas so I didn't know that. I'm sending you... I don't know... all the writing powers I can to help you get your writing groove on. I know what you're saying about distractions. This whole weekend was such a distraction that I wasn't able to get any chapters done on any story I'm working on, but today I reread what I have so far in It Was Never Uncomplicated and suddenly I knew where I wanted to go next. So weird. Guess those writing grooves just come and go.

* * *

**Luke's Diner – December 31st**

Luke is wandering around the diner, helping all the customers. April's at the counter eating a cheese sandwich, chatting with him as he works. "So did you guys pick a date for the wedding yet?" April asks.

"No, I think Lorelai wants to concentrate on giving birth first," Luke replies as he sets a plate of french-fries down in front of a customer. April grins.

"That's smart of her."

"I'll let her know you agree," Luke responds, quickly walking behind the counter to grab the customer a new ketchup bottle.

"But I get to be in the wedding?" April asks, hopefully. Luke smiles at her as he pauses his pace in front of her.

"Of course, you're my daughter. You excited to finally be a big sister?" April nods her head vigorously.

"Yeah! It's probably my only chance," April remarks. Luke nods, walking back behind the counter to get the coffee pot.

"Your mom doesn't want to have any more kids?" Luke asks. April shakes her head.

"No, Mom always says she was never planning on having kids, so I'm lucky. Not that she doesn't love me…"

"Yeah, your mom never seemed like the mothering type, you know, back when," Luke notes, as he pours coffee for a few customers.

"So have you chosen names yet?" April wonders. Luke shakes his head. He walks back to put the pot away.

"No, well, we're on our way at least, we made a new deal."

"Like Lyndon Johnson?" April asks. Luke glances over at her.

"What do you know about Lyndon Johnson?" April shrugs.

"Mom bought me this book about the presidents when I was like 8 or something and I read it cover to cover until I memorized it. I loved it. I mean it wasn't Dickens, but, hey, I was only eight," April replies. Luke raises an eyebrow, even more amazed with his daughter. "I learned lots of things from that book, like about how John Quincy Adams used to like to swim naked in the Potomac."

"I don't think I want you to know that," Luke mutters. April laughs. He starts the coffee pot again and walks over to stand across the counter from April. "So the new deal. I choose our son's first name and our daughter's middle name and Lorelai will do her first name and his middle name, and I reserve the right to name our daughter after her mother if she tries to name our daughter after the lead singer of the Bangles or something." April giggles. "Rory got lucky, let me just say that," Luke says, giving April a pointed look.

"So have you thought of any names for him?" Luke shrugs.

"You have any ideas?" Luke asks.

"Well, do you just want a name you like or do you want to name him after someone?" Luke sighs and starts wiping the counter.

"I was thinking about naming him after my father, your grandfather." April frowns, eyebrows raised, as if she agrees. "Have I ever told you anything about him?" April shakes her head. "My dad was a family man, after my mom died he was all Liz and I had. And although he always wished things had gone right with Liz, he tried his best. He really loved her. But he worked hard, he started his own store and ran it right up until the day he died. He lived and breathed for that store. He loved this town and the people in it. He would do anything for this place. But he never let people believe that things were as important to him as they were."

"So a lot like you," April comments. Luke looks down and slowly smiles to himself. She reaches out and touches his hand. "I think William is the perfect name." Luke nods, still smiling, as Sookie walks in the diner.

"Luke, how's it hanging?" Sookie calls, walking up to the counter. Luke gives her a withering stare. "Wow, so good mood, huh?"

"It was until you came in here. Can't you and Lorelai use phones like everyone else? I'm getting close to quitting my job as your messenger," Luke complains. Sookie frowns in sympathy.

"Aw, poor Luke, has to do his poor pregnant girlfriend a favor, life must suck for you, huh?"

"Hey, watch what you say in front of my kid," Luke warns but April just laughs, having gotten used to the banter that goes on in Stars Hallow.

"I was just wondering if you knew if Lorelai had heard back from the bank," Sookie says. Luke pauses his work and stares at her. Sookie realizes that he has no idea what she's talking about. "Oh… you know… maybe I should just go see her…"

"Sookie, why is Lorelai waiting to hear back from the bank?"

"She's thinking about getting a job there?" Sookie suggests.

"Sookie!" Luke shouts. Sookie gives him a timid look. Luke glares at her waiting for her to tell the truth. Sookie sighs.

"She's waiting to hear about a loan…"

"A loan? For the inn?" Sookie nods. "Is she in a lot of financial trouble?" Sookie shrugs. "Is that what she's been so worried about lately?" Sookie shrugs again.

"I think there's more to it than that, but she is worried about the money…" Sookie sighs again. "She's going to kill me for telling you."

"No, I just feel bad that she couldn't come to me. I mean she should have."

"Not in her mind, in her mind she's Jo March and you're Aunt March," Sookie replies. Luke looks confused.

"What?"

"Oh, Little Women!" April exclaims. Luke glances over at April, a blank look on his face. Sookie just shakes her head, telling him to leave it alone.

"Luke, just give her a break," Sookie insists. The phone rings and Luke walks over towards it, still looking at Sookie.

"I am, I just want her to know she can come to me. This whole marriage thing is never going to work unless we talk. You know?" Sookie nods knowingly. Luke nods and then picks up the phone. "Luke's."

"Luke!" he hears Lorelai's scared cry over the phone.

"Lorelai?" he asks, his heart dropping. Sookie and April share a look.

"Luke! There's something wrong. Oh God Luke, you have to come, come now!" Lorelai cries.

"I'll be there!" Luke slams down the phone. Not even acknowledging that there are people in his diner, Luke runs out the door. April looks up at Sookie worried.

"He'll let us know when he knows something," Sookie promises the girl, but her face reveals how scared she is for her best friend.


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes:**

Ah! I'm scared! I've got lawyers after me and rotton tomatoes flying at me! And apparently I'm evil... well that much I can handle... Oh wait, if I just post the next chapter all will be well and good... phew! Copperboom!

**GMB loves Angel** - I am officially informed about Christmas, or at least Christmas tradition ;) More than informed, I think I might be able to win the Christmas category on Jeopardy. Hey I was looking back at my reviews and I noticed that I had already read your first chapter because I reviewed it, so obviously I'm already liking your story and come a week from now I will read the rest. But the skeleton structure is something I use on most long chapters, plan it out and then go back and do actual dialogue, I do that with most stories too, not this one but most of the others I've planned out before writing them.

**roywthepoodles** - Thanks for the other review. I'm not sure why it wouldn't let you review, but I never really thought about the comparison between L&L and the firelight story. Now I have to go back during my free time (that doesn't exist right now) and watch that episode and figure that one out.

Where oh where did **Robinpoppins **go? I haven't heard from you in so long!

* * *

** The Hospital**

Rory runs into the waiting room to find Luke slouched over in a chair, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. Emily and Richard follow behind their granddaughter at their own pace. "Luke!" Rory calls as she runs over to him. Luke glances up at her and attempts a 'hey', but really no words come out. "What happened? Is Mom all right?"

"She – I – " Luke manages. He swallows, trying to concentrate on breathing. Rory sits down in the chair next to him, a frightened expression on her face.

"You have to tell me what happened!" Rory exclaims. Luke nods, gathering his strength.

"I was – at the diner – she – Lorelai – she called. And I ran – she was on the bed – and there was blood," Luke chokes out, closing his eyes, still seeing the image in his mind. "So much blood." Rory's mouth is open and she looks like she's about to cry.

"Is she…?" Rory attempts, not actually able to get the words out. Luke slowly looks over at her, noticing the scared expression on Rory's face.

"She's in surgery," Luke whispers. Rory lets out a deep breath.

"So she's still – I mean she's – she didn't…" Rory stammers. Luke shakes his head slightly.

"They're doing a c-section."

"Did they think she wouldn't make it if the c-section wasn't done?" Emily asks. Luke glances up, finally noticing the elder Gilmores. Richard has an arm around Emily, who is white as a sheet. Luke shakes his head.

"The doctors – they said the twins wouldn't make it if it wasn't done," Luke replies simply, a far away expression in his eyes. "They said for twins, two months early, for a first pregnancy, it's not unusual, but this isn't her first." He glances at Rory. "Obviously." Rory nods. She throws her arms around Luke's neck. Luke responds putting him arms around her as well, holding her close, though comforting her more than himself.

"When Sookie called, I was so scared. Sookie didn't really know what was wrong, only that Mom had called you and it wasn't good, and I was so scared," Rory chokes out, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't lose her."

"I know, I can't lose her either," Luke whispers, tears in his eyes. In fact, even Emily has tears in her eyes watching the two of them.

"Rory!" they hear Lane call and they separate. Rory glances over to see Lane rushing over to her with Sookie running behind. Rory stands as Lane wraps her up in her arms. As Rory cries on Lane's shoulder, Luke looks down at his hands, trying to keep his mind from going places it should, using all of his concentration to keep the tears from falling.

"How did you know?" Rory asks Lane.

"Sookie called me, she said she thought you'd need a friend, but she didn't really know what happened," Lane explains.

"Yes, what happened?" Sookie asks. She's standing in front of Luke. "Last I knew you were running out of the diner without telling April or me anything." Luke glances up at her only then realized that he left April at the diner.

"Where is April?" he asks.

"I dropped her off at her mom's before picking up Lane, but she wants us to call her the moment we know anything. She's really worried about Lorelai," Sookie tells him, as she sits down in the seat next to him. "Luke, what happened?" Sookie asks, reaching out and touching Luke's shoulder.

"I don't know," Luke answers, in a dry voice. "She was bleeding and I just picked her up, put her in the truck and brought her right here. And I'm just waiting for the doctors." Luke covers his face with his hands.

"She's in surgery," Richard explains. Sookie glances over at the Gilmores and nods.

"I never really told her that I love her," Luke whispers. Sookie turns back to Luke.

"Oh, Luke, she knows," Sookie assures him, rubbing his arm lightly.

"Family of Lorelai Gilmore?" a doctor calls, walking into the waiting room. Luke stands and walks over to the doctor. Rory follows, wrapping her arms around one of Luke's, leaning on him. Everyone else walks over too, Sookie and Lane stand behind the others.

"We're her mother and father," Emily tells the doctor. Richard, who has an arm around Emily's shoulders, nods.

"I'm her fiancé and this is her daughter," Luke adds, motioning to Rory with his head.

"Okay, good," the doctor responds.

"I'm her best friend," Sookie announces.

"Daughter's best friend," Lane adds, acknowledging this with a wave. She and Sookie share a look.

"We can leave them with you," Sookie suggests. The doctor shakes his head.

"No, that's fine," he replies, glancing at Rory, who nods. Sookie smiles, relieved. "I'm Dr. Shaw, I was the surgical OB that worked on Lorelai. The twins are-"

"Please," Luke interrupts, making a stop motion with his hand. "Please tell me about Lorelai first, I need to know." Dr. Shaw nods.

"Okay, Lorelai lost a lot of blood before and during the surgery. We gave her a few transfusions. She was in shock originally but we were able to stabilize her blood pressure during the surgery and we've moved her to the ICU. She's in critical condition, but she's stable so that's a good sign." Luke nods slightly. Rory hugs his arm, relieved to know Lorelai's fine for the moment. "Would you like to know about your children?" Dr. Shaw asks, assuming that they're Luke's. Luke takes another deep breath and nods. "We got your son out first. He's a little small, which can be expected at only 29 weeks, but he's doing well. He can breathe on his own and he gave him an APGAR score of 8, which is good. The highest is 10 and we only give that if they come out reciting the Jabberwocky." Dr. Shaw smiles slightly, hoping his little joke lightened the mood a bit.

"And my daughter?" Luke asks, not responding to the joke. Dr. Shaw nods.

"Your daughter came out second. She was smaller than her brother. She was having a lot of trouble breathing because she hadn't yet built up enough surfactant on her lungs to allow her to breathe on her own once out of the womb. We put her on a ventilator and they're both in the NICU. We gave her a five minute APGAR score of 4, which is low, but I've seen children come back from lower scores."

"That's good," Sookie breathes, reaching up and rubbing Luke's back. Rory glances back at her and nods.

"I can take you back to see your children now," Dr. Shaw offers. Luke shakes his head.

"No, take me to see Lorelai. I need to see her," Luke insists.

"Lorelai lost a lot of blood, she probably won't wake up for a few hours, you should go meet your children," Dr. Shaw says gently. Luke shakes his head.

"No, I don't care if she's not awake, I need to see her. I need to know for myself that Lorelai's – that she's – that…" Luke swallows, not actually able to finish his sentence. He takes a deep breath and looks back up at the doctor, hoping the doctor will understand his wishes. Dr. Shaw nods.

"Okay, I can take you to see her," Dr. Shaw agrees.

"I'll go with you," Rory says. Luke takes his arm out of her grasp, wrapping it around her and kissing the top of her head. "She's going to be fine," Rory whispers attempting to comfort both herself and Luke with her words.


	56. Chapter 56

**Notes**:

**General note to all about the last chapter: **Since I've had a few comments about it I want to explain what I was getting at. I wasn't trying to make it seem like Luke didn't care but that there was so much to care about that he had to focus on one thing at a time. I was trying to make it apparent that the image in Luke's mind was the last moment he saw Lorelai: bleeding, unconconscious. It's not that he doesn't care about his children because he specifically asked about his daughter, it's just that he needs to make it clear to himself that Lorelai's still alive before he deals with what may be going on with his children. Luke's always been a deal with one thing at a time kind of person, at least it seems to me. I've already insinuated a few times that Luke is excited to be a father and expect that to come up again in the next few chapters. I think either way I had him go, whether he went to see the twins first or Lorelai first I would have gotten a few comments, so I wanted to clear that up.

**Robinpoppins**: Haha, I totally remember Jack is Back. I understand the whole no time to review thing, I just noticed I hadn't heard from you in awhile and thought I'd see if you were still reading. I agree Emily and Richard should be there.

**Dreams-of-Oompa-Loompas**: Wow, I can't believe you read the whole thing in one day! Jess left because it was SL dictated and because he left on the show as well. I've said a few times that Rory's SL will basically follow along with the show, therefore why she was dating Dean in the beginning and then Jess and eventually Logan. But I've also said before that Jess will be back, not anytime in the next few chapters, but he did come back on the show and he will be back in this story. I personally have no feelings on who Rory should be with on the show be it Jess, Dean, Logan or some random guy off the street so that is why I am chosing to have her with the same guys she was with on the show, thus who she is with is predetermined by ASP.

**Rachel**: Wow, another one who read all 55 chapters in one sitting! You cracked me up with your thing about your face pressed against the computer screen. I'm glad you got into the story.

**Ele309 - **It was so sweet of you to review! Your English was fine, in fact if you hadn't reminded me that English is not your first language I wouldn't have remembered. I agree that it's also important to be able to imagine the characters in the situations, when I edit I actually try to picture/hear the story in my mind. I also agree that the whole April SL could have gone better on the show, Luke and Lorelai could have easily worked April into their lives without it being a big thing between them and it could have made them even closer rather than what actually happened. I too like the interaction between Lorelai and Emily, it might not happen much in this story but I try to make them pretty good chapters when Emily comes in because she's such a big reason why Lorelai is the way she is. I love Mia too. I have no plans to bring her in on this story, but it's a thought. I always hoped that they would bring her back on GG for another episode. Thank you again for your long and wonderful review and as long as theirs readers like you then I'm just going to keep writing.

A special thanks to **javajunkie101 **on posting my 700th review!

Where oh where is **smileyGGfan**? I miss you!

* * *

**Lorelai's Room in the ICU**

Luke opens the door to Lorelai's room, allowing Rory to enter first. Rory walks over to Lorelai's bedside, taking her mom's seemingly lifeless hand in hers, relieved to find it still warm. She just stands there staring at Lorelai, a tear running down her cheek. Luke folds his arms over his chest as he stands near the door, not moving his eyes from Lorelai. Rory glances up at the heart monitor, the only reminder that somewhere underneath Lorelai's still alive.

"Mom," Rory whispers, as if she's trying to wake Lorelai up. She swallows, glancing over at Luke. "Do you want to come over here?" Luke shakes his head. Rory lowers her eyes to the ground and then back at Lorelai. "Mom, I'm here." She glances around looking for a chair, but the only one is near Luke.

Instead of getting the chair, Rory climbs up on the bed next to Lorelai. She places Lorelai's arm around her, nuzzling into her mother's shoulders as they used to when back at home. "Mom, we didn't get to do this on my birthday this year. I wasn't home at 4:03 in the morning so you could climb in my bed and tell me about the night I was born. The night you always said was the most amazing and painful night of your life." Rory takes Lorelai's hand between hers, looking down at it. "But I thought about it. I was going to come home and miss class just to spend that one moment with you." She sighs, another tear running down her cheek. "I should have." Rory looks back over at Lorelai.

"But next year, you'll be able to start that tradition with the twins. You'll tell them all about how you loved them so much that you almost… you almost." Rory pauses, choking back a sob. "You'll tell them that they were born just after it became the New Year because this year was going to be different. You were going to have everything this year, a husband, twins, a step daughter, and me. You were going to open an inn. It was going to be the best year of your life. It's still going to be." Rory kisses Lorelai's cheek, nuzzling back in again.

"Mom, you have to wake up. You have to be okay. I'm going to be selfish for now and demand it because I can't do it without you. I'm not as strong as you, you've always be strong enough for the both of us. Remember how long I clung to you when you tried to leave Yale? You have to wake up. I would be nothing without you." Rory lifts her head, staring at her mother's face. She leans in and kisses Lorelai again. "I love you Mom." She sighs and then glances over at Luke, who hasn't moved and she knows he won't until she gives him time alone with her mother. She kisses Lorelai one last time and then climbs off of the bed. Then she walks over to Luke, touching his arm.

"I'm going to go see the twins, maybe call April or something. You'll meet me over there?" Rory asks. Luke nods, not breaking his gaze. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses Luke's cheek. Then she gives his arm a squeeze and walks out, leaving Luke alone in the room with Lorelai.

Luke walks up to the end of the bed, his hands settling on the rails as he stares at Lorelai. He takes a deep breath, gathering his strength. Then he walks over and picks up the chair and takes it over to the side of her bed. He sits down in the chair, having not taken his eyes off of Lorelai once. His eyes brim with tears as he reaches up and grasps her hand tightly, bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing it.

"I'm sorry," he chokes out. "I'm sorry Lorelai, I should have been there. I should have closed the diner and been with you from the very moment you were having trouble. I should have been there with you today, holding you in my arms and telling you that we're getting through this together. Because I just...I want to be a father but I – I can't do it alone." Luke's voice is starting to shake as he continues to attempt to hold it together. He runs his thumb across his forehead as he tries to keep calm.

Luke stands and lies down on the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he asks, leaning his head against hers. "That summer morning when you came into my diner, I fell in love. I had dated around and I dated a few after that, but you're the only one who ever really captured my heart. From the moment I laid eyes on you, no one could compete. I not only saw myself putting that ring on your finger, I saw us laying on the porch on sunny afternoons wrapped in each other's arms, I saw us dancing alone on the dance floor neither of us able to take our eyes off of each other, I saw us nestled in each other's arms in the morning when we woke up and making love before we went to sleep. I saw myself as your hero and you as my angel. I would protect you from anything and I – I haven't done a good job at that." Luke covers his face with his hand as he allows a few hidden tears to run down his cheeks. He leans over and kisses Lorelai's head again.

"I just sat back and let you beat yourself up over Max. I let Christopher hurt you. I let you drive yourself crazy with the inn and your parents until you were so worn out you could barely handle this pregnancy. And I wasn't there for you. And I'm sorry." He voice breaks as the tears finally breaks loose and he buries his face in her hair. "I'm so sorry Lorelai."

"I promise it won't be this way anymore. If you just wake up, just show me that beautiful smile, those amazing blue eyes, one more time, I promise I will be the man you should be with. The man who loves you and tells you that everyday. And I'll protect you from every harm that may come your way, even if it's just to protect you from yourself. I will do that. Because I love you. Because I am nothing without you." Luke turns on his side, resting an arm across Lorelai, nuzzling his face into her neck, breathing in the small scent of hers that hasn't been destroyed by the hospital smell. He lifts his face and kisses her lips softly, the tears falling where they may. "You are my everything," he whispers as he lies his head back down in the crook of her neck and closes his eyes, just being one with her.


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes:**

Long weekend at home after finally being done with classes so no review responses this time. Sorry about that, but I still do appreciate all the reviews.

* * *

**The Hospital  
**

Rory stops in the bathroom on her way over to the NICU to throw water on her face and get control of herself. She runs a hand through her hair as she takes a moment to look in the mirror. Her mother's blue eyes look back at her. She reaches up and runs her fingers over her face feeling her mother's high cheek bone, her mother's soft white skin, her mother's thin pink lips. And she chokes back a sob. "I don't want this to be all I have left of you," Rory whispers her chin trembling. She sighs, looking down. With one more glance at her reflection in the mirror, she walks out of the bathroom.

Wrapping her arms around her stomach, Rory walks over to the NICU. Emily and Richard are standing outside, just staring inside at all the small infants. Rory walks up beside them. "Hey," Rory says quietly.

"Rory," Emily says. Richard hugs Rory close and then Emily gathers her granddaughter in her arms. "Is Luke still with your mother?" Rory nods as she lets go of Emily. "Are you doing all right, Dear?" Rory nods again, taking a deep breath and forcing a smile.

"I'm doing the best I can," Rory answers.

"Well, we're here if you need anything," Richard says, squeezing Rory's shoulder. She nods, tucking a hair behind her ear. She glances in the room.

"Have you seen them yet?" Rory asks. Emily and Richard share a look as Emily stares back in.

"No," Emily whispers, shaking her head. She clears her throat. "Sookie and Lane went in to see them right after you and Luke took off but they went down the cafeteria to find you some coffee."

"I don't want any," Rory says quickly. She sighs, looking away. "I couldn't…" Richard nods.

"We understand," he says.

"You should go see Mom," Rory tells them. "Or you could wait until she wakes up and is able to talk to you, depends how much her talking really annoys you." Rory smiles as she says this. Emily and Richard share a hesitant look.

"Are you going to go see your new siblings?" Emily finally asks. Rory nods. "Do you want us to go with you?" Rory glances inside, a slight look of pain on her face.

"Yeah, that would be great," Rory says, a little relieved. Emily reaches out and rubs Rory's arm. "Oh, I need to call April," she realizes.

"I think Sookie did that all ready," Emily tells her. Rory breathes a sigh of relief. "You know, you don't have to be the strong one, you can lean on other people."

"I can't, actually," Rory insists. She sighs. "I'm my mother's daughter." Richard and Emily share a look, both happy and unhappy that Rory's so much like her mother. Rory looks back inside. "Well there's no time like the present, Luke'll be here soon. You coming?" she asks looking back at Richard and Emily. He nods. "Okay." Rory opens the door as they stop in the middle room and gown up and then walk in. She glances around making sure she's looking at the right babies. Richard points over to the two Danes babies. Rory walks over to stand between the two. Emily stands by the girl and Richard by the boy.

"She almost looks like you did," Emily whispers. Rory stares down at the small infant, fighting for her life and tries to remember the baby pictures Lorelai had showed her.

"Does she really?" Rory wonders, really trying to see it in someone so small.

"He's a strong one, going to be a health baby, like a true Gilmore," Richard says, smiling down at the boy.

"He's a Danes," Rory reminds him quietly as Luke walks into the NICU. He and Rory share silent words as they look at each other. "Hey Gramma, Grampa, do you mind going to get Sookie and Lane? You guys can all check on Mom, make sure she's not alone when she wakes up." Richard glances over and notices Luke.

"Yes, we will. Emily?" Richard walks over and puts an arm around Emily. She glances up at him.

"She's so small Richard," Emily whispers.

"She's a fighter like her mother," Richard promises. Emily nods. They walk out, with Richard's arm around Emily's shoulders. Luke nods to them and then walks over to stand next to Rory. She glances up at Luke, watching his response.

"Wow," he whispers. He reaches out and places a hand over the glass that's over his son. He swallows.

"You ready for this?" Rory asks.

"You don't get to be ready for this," Luke replies. She nods, looking back down at her new sister. "I never imagined it would be like this. From the moment she told me about them all I could picture was Lorelai and me in a nursery holding our child. Us together…" Rory rubs his arm. "I just can't do it alone." He chokes back a sob, a pained expression on his face.

"You won't be alone, Dad," Rory promises. Luke takes her hand in his and squeezes it in response. "Did you guys name them yet?" Luke shakes his head.

"I wanted to name him after my father," Luke tells her.

"William?" Rory asks. Luke nods. "That's very Cats In The Cradle of you. I think Mom will be fine with that. William…" She reaches out a finger and traces his outline over the glass. Then she looks over at her sister. "And Miss no name." She traces her sister's outline as well.

"I love them already," Luke says. Rory looks up at him smiling. Luke glances over at her with uncertainty in his eyes. "Do you think it would be weird if I talked to them?"

"I think it would be weirder if you didn't," Rory responds. Luke nods. He looks down at his son and then over at his daughter, placing a hand over the glass separating each of them from the outside world.

"Hey Kiddos," Luke says after a moment, his voice sounding a little choked up. "I don't want to scare you, but I'm your father. I'm Dad. I'm the one who will be there for you and protect you and love you no matter what. And then, of course, there's food and clothes and I'm also good for a buck or two when you need it." Rory giggles. Luke glances over at her and winks. "And this is Rory. She's one of your big sisters. Keep in mind she doesn't seem scary but she's just as crazy as your mother." Rory giggles again. Luke nods and looks back down at each of his children. "I know you guys want your mother, and believe me, I know she'll rip out her IVs just to get to you. You're going to love her. And your sisters. And I just hope I'm not a disappointment." Rory lays a hand on his arm and he looks back at her. She shakes her head at him.

"Luke don't think that. You're Mom's rock and mine. You've always been there for me. There's a reason I chose you as my dad beyond you marrying my mother," Rory tells him. Luke looks back down at his kids, wanting to believe her. His son kicks his feet as he squirms around. Luke chuckles. "He's going to be an active one."

"Hopefully that means I'll have one child to play sports with," Luke responds.

"Maybe two," Rory adds. Luke looks over at his daughter, seeming so small and fragile in comparison to her brother.

"Rory, I love this little girl so much. In my mind she's already running races in grade school and clapping for fireworks on the Fourth of July." Rory squeezes his arm.

"She will. She'll have all that. She'll get better, Dad. She was just holding out for a hero," Rory assures him with a soft smile. Luke tears his eyes off of his daughter to look across at Rory.

"Yeah?"

"And now you're here."

"Yeah..." Rory nods and looks down at her sister, recalling Luke's voice in her head. She looks back up at him.

"Hey. You should tell her you don't want her to die, people like to hear that," Rory says softly.

"Where'd you hear that?" Luke asks, pretending as if he doesn't already know. Rory just grins.

"From this really awesome guy who closed up his restaurant, drove 30 minutes in the cold and snow, and waited around in a place that gave him the creeps because my mother and I needed him." Luke nods, a lump forming in his throat at Rory's kind words.

"Thanks Rory," he finally manages.

"You're going to be a great Dad. I've never doubted it."


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes:**

**cywen69 - **I'm so glad to have you all caught up here. I love how you said you hoped the earth would open up and swallow Chris. Cracked me up. I'm glad that you appreciated the chapter when LL first make love, back when she's still with Chris. It was a tricky chapter to write because neither Luke nor Lorelai is a cheating kind of person, so they had to get in a situation where it seemed it was just them and emotions just got the best of them. From what I hear my dad was a pretty unsure father when my sister was born, but since I was the younger it was easy for him, probably why I'm a Daddy's Girl. I could have killed showAnna when she said she didn't think Luke would be a good father because I can so see it in him, he may hate kids but he'll love his own, April and his with Lorelai.

**smileyGGfan - **Welcome back. I completely understand the finals and summer starting thing. I just finished my exams myself. Your review was touching as always, and I'm glad you appreciated how I was able to capture 'Stone Cold Luke' and still let him show his emotions.

**chmelms **- Aw, you made me blush...

**borncountry88 **- I could never do away with Lorelai! She's the heart of the story.

**GMB loves Angel** - You know the Luke/Rory moment took some work, but I remembered they had a small talk in Forgiveness and Stuff so I went back and watched it and loved that line he said to her. I thought it would be good if she looked back at that too.

**gwenn **- Thank you for your wonderful review. I'm glad you finally decided to review and I'm glad you're liking the fic so far.

**javajunkie101 **- Oh yeah, I'm glad you've got it on story alert. Wouldn't want you to miss a chapter!

**mnbennett **- Yay for new readers! Any fan of Luke and Lorelai is a friend of mine.

**spint914 **- Another new reader! Thanks for the review! It was hard to ease into the relationship with certain people pushing me saying 'get them together already!', but I'm glad you appreicate the slow process.

**Waffle's Very Happy **- And another new reader. Hehe, I'm glad you liked the Eurotrip reference. I'm not even sure why I threw it in just seemed like something Lorelai would do. Glad you're liking the fic!

* * *

**Lorelai's Hospital Room**

It is now the next day. Lorelai woke up during the night. Sookie was there when she woke up. She's doing fine, as Dr. Shaw had predicted, and she's been moved to a regular room in OB until the doctors are ready to let her go home. Rory left late in the night to go get things together at Yale. Luke wasn't there either when Lorelai woke up. He drove the elder Gilmores home and then stopped over in Woodbury to see April and assure his daughter that her new siblings and future stepmother are going to be all right, though he wasn't so sure of it himself.

In the morning, Lorelai's sitting up in bed talking to Sookie and Jackson when Luke walks in. He stands by the door, allowing Sookie and Jackson their time with Lorelai. But the moment Lorelai looks up and notices Luke standing in her doorway, the moment is over. Luke watches as Lorelai's smile fades and tears form in her eyes and he can't take it anymore. He is over at her side in a moment, gathering her up in his arms. She wraps her arms around him, crying and clinging to him with all her might.

"We'll leave you two, call me if you need anything," Sookie says. Luke glances over at her and nods. Sookie motions to the door with her eyes and Jackson nods. They walk out. Luke kisses the top of Lorelai's head.

"I'm here, Lorelai, I'm here," Luke assures Lorelai. She slowly pulls away from him and tilts her face so he can lean down and kiss her. "Better?" he asks. Lorelai nods. She moves over, suggesting that he join her in bed and he does, pulling her close to him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I would have been here sooner." Lorelai shakes her head, touching his lips with her fingers.

"No, you're here now, that's all that matters," she says softly. Luke nods. She sighs leaning back against him.

"So, Lorelai, you wanna tell me what happened? All I know is that I was at the diner, working for the weekend, and talking with Sookie and April and the phone rang. And you were there, you were scared and I ran home, all the way nothing on my mind but getting to you. And I got you to the hospital and now here we are…" Lorelai nods slowly. She closes her eyes in pain.

"I really don't know either. I was just – and I felt this pain – and there – blood was everywhere…" She shrugs, biting her lip. Luke rubs her arm comfortingly, waiting for her to go on, but she doesn't.

"Sookie told me about your financial situation," Luke tells her. Lorelai grimaces slightly. "Is that why you've been in such a mood lately?"

"Well, hormones can actually do that, I'm not planning a Sylvia Plath or anything," Lorelai responds. Luke sighs.

"Lorelai…"

"Yeah, that – and other things…" she says vaguely. Lorelai rubs her forehead. "When I was pregnant with Rory, things were different."

"Well that's not surprising Lorelai, you were 16," Luke reminds her. Lorelai chuckles.

"Yes, that much is true. But it's more like my situation was different," Lorelai adds.

"Again, you were 16."

"Yeah… I mean when I was pregnant, I didn't really know what I was going to do, I didn't really get it. That all changed the moment they put her in my arms. And she opened her eyes and looked at me. She had me. Instantly. Her beautiful blue eyes and pink baby smell. Rory." Lorelai smiles to herself, that day still as fresh in her mind as if it had happened yesterday. Luke rubs her arm again, which reminds Lorelai what she was trying to say. "After that it was me and Rory. Us against the world. Everything we did, we did together. She was just like an extension of myself." Lorelai sighs. "What if it's different this time?"

"Hun, it's bound to be different this time. I mean you're settled. You have a house and a nursery built specifically for them and decorated by you. You have a successful job, well at least soon you will. And you have me, someone else you can depend on. It's completely different." Lorelai nods.

"I'm just scared that because of that, I won't love them like I should. I won't love them like I loved Rory, right from the start," Lorelai explains. A tear runs down her cheek. "And I'm so scared that they'll know I don't love them like Rory and they'll hate me for it." Luke kisses the side of her face.

"You're a great mother. And not just for Rory. You've been great with April and you practically mothered Lane. And they both love you," Luke reminds her.

"But they're not my children." Lorelai covers her face with her hands, a little ashamed of herself. "Jan hated Marsha for being the first born." Luke chuckles.

"Jan was crazy," he comments.

"Yes but Marsha was perfect in everyone's eyes as Rory is, I mean you said it yourself before. Jan was just a shadow of what Marsha was," Lorelai recalls. Luke sighs, rubbing her arm, trying to think of someway to help her.

"But Jan hated Marsha, not Florence Henderson," Luke remembers.

"You mean Carol? Carol Brady?"

"Right, Carol…" Luke nods.

"Even then, I don't want the twins to hate Rory or even April," Lorelai worries.

"They won't. You love them already, you're just worrying yourself. Why don't we go see the twins, then maybe you'll reconsider?" Luke suggests. Lorelai looks up into his eyes, making sure he really believes this. Then she nods.

"Okay," Lorelai agrees, still a little unsure. Luke lifts her hand to his lips and kisses it. She reaches up and brushes his cheek, gaining comfort from this small touch. "Okay," she repeats. Luke gets off the bed and goes to get a nurse, who helps move Lorelai into a wheelchair. The nurse takes out Lorelai's IV and tells her to find someone when they get back to put the IV back in.

Luke takes hold of the wheelchair, rolling Lorelai down the hall. "Where are we going?" Lorelai asks, noticing a sign that says the nursery is the other direction. Luke glances down at her.

"The NICU," he replies simply.

"Oh," she says quietly. Luke stops pushing and walks over to stand in front of her.

"Did the doctors tell you anything about them?" Luke asks. Lorelai shakes her head.

"I wanted you to. Is it because they were two months early? They're probably small aren't they? I mean Rory was right on time, almost to the exact time, so she was perfect, but that's not the way it would be if they're early. And they were early, cuz they weren't due until February. I mean I still haven't done all the reading I wanted to on that kind of thing, cuz I didn't do any reading about having a baby before Rory. But I wanted to do it right this time."

"Lorelai," Luke interrupts, squatting in front of her and laying a hand on her knee. Lorelai looks at him through misty eyes and she licks her lips preparing herself for what he's going to say. "Our son, our little boy, is small but good and healthy. They gave him an eight and I'm not really sure what that means, but you can ask around."

"It's an APGAR score. It's supposed to be out of ten, but I got an eleven cuz I'm special," Lorelai jokes, her eyes glittering. Luke smiles, glad to see that she's still herself, even after this. "So he's good? A healthy boy?" Luke nods. "Did you name him?"

"I wanted to name him William." Lorelai smiles softly.

"William," she repeats, trying out the name. "Liam," she tries, shortening it just a bit. "I love it. Your father's smiling at his big Luke picture screen today." Luke chuckles. "He's going to need a bigger screen soon, with two more grandchildren to watch over and he's already got Jess and April. Busy busy man, your dad."

"And Liam's middle name?" Lorelai grins.

"Gilbert."

"Don't tell me that's like the lead singer of Wham or something," Luke groans. Lorelai laughs.

"No, Luke, Gilbert. Gilbert the goat. Remember?" Luke looks up thinking and then it comes to him. He shakes his head, looking at her like she's crazy.

"Yes, I remember. The chuppah."

"Exactly. You said I liked goats, and I agreed."

"You don't like goats?" Lorelai laughs again.

"No, goats are good, but Gilbert is a very helpful goat. He's the reason I realized you were the only one I wanted to be with and the reason I knew I never wanted to marry Christopher," Lorelai explains. Luke looks confused.

"Do I want to know how a wooden goat helped with that?"

"He's a magic goat," Lorelai contends.

"Oh, well that makes sense," Luke responds, as if it really doesn't make sense at all.

"William Gilbert. William Gilbert Danes. Little Liam Danes," Lorelai says, letting the name roll over her tongue. Luke knows she's falling for her son already.

"Lorelai, I need to tell you about our daughter," Luke says, not wanting to spoil her good mood, but Lorelai's face falls instantly. She swallows.

"Okay, well that doesn't sound good," she whispers. Luke shakes his head.

"She's smaller than Liam. They gave her an APGAR score of four. She hadn't yet produced that stuff to help her breathe on her own so they had to put her on a ventilator and they're giving her injections of that stuff."

"Oh." Lorelai's chin begins to tremble as her stricken expression returns. "Oh." Luke squeezes her knee.

"Lorelai, the doctors are doing everything they can. They're watching over her. They said they can't promise anything but that infants are fighters and if she's like you, she'll come out of this stronger than we could imagine." Lorelai presses her lips together, trying to stay calm. Luke places his other hand on her other knee. "Did you have a name for her?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"I'm not ready to – yet," she tells him. Luke nods, understanding.

"Do you want to go see them?" Luke asks, just making sure. Lorelai nods. "Okay." He gives her knee another squeeze and stands to walk back behind the chair. He places one hand on her shoulder and uses the other to guide the chair. Lorelai reaches up and covers his hand with her own, leaning her head on it as he pushes the wheelchair up to the NICU.

There's a nurse there who helps Lorelai out of the wheelchair and helps Luke dress her in sterile gowns. "Hold on to me," Luke directs as he helps her inside and over to the twins. He first takes Lorelai over to Liam.

"He's beautiful," she whispers. She glances over at Luke and smiles seeing his proud expression. Luke squeezes Lorelai to him with his arm that is wrapped around her, holding her up. "Liam," she whispers in the same loving voice she had used for Rory's name earlier, gently placing a hand over the glass.

"He's got your eyes," Luke says.

"All babies have bright blue eyes," Lorelai reminds him. "Besides, who cares what they look like as long as they're healthy, happy and have my coffee addiction." Luke chuckles.

"Yes, because that's all that matters," Luke teases.

"Would you like to hold him?" the nurse suggests walking in the room. Luke and Lorelai share a smile.

"Yes," Luke says, clearing his throat. "I think we would." The nurse walks over, with a sterile blanket. Luke holds on to Lorelai as they step away from the neonatal bed. The nurse opens it up, wrapping the blanket around Liam and lifts him out. Both Luke and Lorelai are holding their breaths as if they're afraid their son may break.

"Here you go," the nurse says, offering Liam to Lorelai first. Lorelai reaches out and moves the blanket away from Liam's face, allowing her to get a close look at her son's face. As she stares at him, the smile slowly disappears from her face. "Ms. Danes?"

Lorelai glances up at the nurse. "Gilmore, my last name, it's Gilmore," she says hoarsely. She looks back at Liam, but doesn't move to take him.

"Ms. Gilmore, would you like to hold your son?" the nurse asks. The nurse glances up at Luke. He glances over at Lorelai, a little worried.

"Here, I'll take him," Luke says. Lorelai leans against another neonatal bed as Luke reaches both arms out to take his son in his arms for the first time. Luke's expression is one of amazement as he reaches out a finger to touch Liam's small hand. Lorelai rubs her forehead, not really looking at what's going on. "Lorelai, come look." She shakes her head.

"No." She forces a tight smile. "No, I'm fine." Luke shares a concerned look with the nurse. "I'd like to…" Lorelai points over at her daughter.

"Okay," Luke agrees. He motions for the nurse to take Liam and the nurse puts him back on his bed.

"I'll bring him by later so that we can try breast feeding," the nurse says, glancing up at Lorelai, who nods slightly. Lorelai's face is pale and she grabs onto Luke's arm to hold herself up. "I'll be back." The nurse walks out.

Luke glances once more down at Liam and then over at Lorelai, who's frozen. He motions with his head over at their daughter and she nods, a little scared. Luke helps Lorelai over to stand by their daughter's bed, standing behind her and peeking over her shoulder. Lorelai lets out a choking sob as she lays a hand on the glass. "She's strong Lorelai, she's fighting," Luke whispers in her ear. Lorelai shakes her head violently. She looks up, trying to keep herself from breaking down as the tears stream down her face.

"This is all my fault," she whispers as she looks back down at her young daughter.

"Lorelai, don't even think that, not for a second."

"It is Luke, it is. You kept telling me not to get stressed out and I didn't take your advice. I kept drinking all that caffeine for two months after I knew I was pregnant. And I didn't even think to stop working until the day I couldn't get off the couch!"

"Lorelai…"

"And it's not just that," she adds, pausing to choke back another sob. "I deserve this, it's my own punishment. I cheated on my fiancé. I couldn't even tell him that I did. But I did, willingly. I cheated. I'm a horrible person."

"No, Lorelai, you're not," Luke says softly, kissing the back of her head.

"I had a baby at sixteen. I ran away from home. I was horrible to my parents. Isn't that a commandment or something, don't hurt your parents, they created you? I hurt Christopher. Twice, three times, I can't even count. And I should be thanking him, he gave me Rory!"

"But he hurt you," Luke whispers, but Lorelai doesn't listen.

"And I hurt Max. I couldn't tell him that I didn't love him. I didn't even talk to him really, I just kind called him up, ended it and hung up. That was it. And I don't know why you're being so nice to me, I hurt you too. I slept with you and then walked away as if nothing happened. I told you that you didn't matter."

"But I knew you were lying." Lorelai shakes her head.

"I deserve this. I'm a horrible person. This is my punishment. I'm going to be a terrible mother. I – I – I deserve this," Lorelai gets out as she finally breaks down sobbing, covering her face with her hands. She leans back against Luke as he wraps his arm around her stomach, holding her to him, as the only thing keeping her from falling to the ground.

"Lorelai," he whispers, slowly turning her so that she faces him, pulling her face to his shoulder. "You do not deserve this. Don't think that and don't for a moment think that I don't love you. Things may not be perfect, but they'll turn out. They always do." Lorelai runs her hands up Luke's arms, letting them grasp the material covering his upper arms, clinging to him as she sobs. "I love you Lorelai," he whispers.


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes:**

Well now I know what it takes to get Kasia to review. Glad you like that I'm using the name Liam!

I guess it's a good thing that middle names are almost never used since quite a few of you don't like the name Gilbert. I like the name Gilbert, makes me think of Anne's Gilbert.

**Lorlukealways **- No, the twins are definitely Luke's. No fear.

**You've Got Wings Baby** - That is saying something. Thank you.

**Babs25 **- I'm glad that the first moment of the chapter is what you chose to comment on because that was actually my favorite part.

**Katiegg108 **- See, the fact that I was able to use April in a way that brings LL closer should say something to ASP. I do like the girl, she's cute.

**acceb **- Glad you're liking the story! I too liked Anna the first couple times she was on but the scene when she dropped April off at the birthday party rubbed me the wrong way and I already started disliking her before the horrible scene with Luke and then Lorelai. I'm glad that you appreciate Rory thinking of Luke as her dad.

**kelli **- Sorry to say, but I don't think it was a record. Katie read it in 3 hours. But I'm glad you read it and liked what you've read so far!

* * *

**Lorelai's Room**

"Hello, hello," the nurse calls, wheeling a rolling a baby carrier with Liam inside into Lorelai's room. Lorelai is sitting up in bed, fully dressed now in her sweats. Luke is sitting in the chair by the bed. "Ms. Gilmore, there's a young man who wanted to see you." Lorelai has a hesitant smile on her face as she sees her son again.

Luke stands, his hands going to his hips. "You okay?" he asks Lorelai, seeing that she looks a little peeked. Lorelai nods slowly, not taking her eyes off of Liam.

"Let's try having you hold him first and then we can try breast feeding, how about that?" the nurse suggests.

"Okay," Lorelai says quickly, the uncertainty in her voice showing. Luke rubs her shoulder.

"Here I'll get him," Luke offers. He walks over and lifts Liam carefully out of the baby carrier. Lorelai smiles fondly at them, proud of Luke for his instant ease with his son. "I think I'm getting the hang of this," Luke says proudly.

"Yeah, you'll be playing ball in the front yard with him in no time, training him for the big leagues," Lorelai says. Luke grins.

"You think he's more of a Roger Clemens or Hank Aaron?" Luke asks, walking over to the side of the bed with Liam.

"Who was the one that was a good pitcher and hitter?"

"Babe Ruth?"

"Yeah, that's it." Lorelai looks lovingly down at her son. "Of course, if he's like me and Rory, he'll won't even be able to hit a tee ball."

"You can't it a tee ball?" Luke asks, a little surprised.

"Hey, it's not hard to miss the ball – three times in a row…" Lorelai blushes. Luke looks at Lorelai as she finally tears her gaze away from Liam and up at Luke.

"You want to take him?" Lorelai takes a deep breath, her self confidence quickly disappearing. "Lorelai, you're not going to hurt him. People should be more afraid of me handling a child than you."

"That's not what I'm afraid of," Lorelai says quietly. She looks back at Liam. Reaching out she runs a finger over his forehead and down his cheek. Swallowing, she finally nods. "Okay," she whispers. Luke watches her to make sure she's really going to do it as Lorelai slowly reaches her arms out to hold her son for the first time.

Luke leans over allowing Lorelai to take Liam from him. She holds Liam very carefully as if he were made of porcelain, slowly bringing him to rest against her chest. Luke squeezes her shoulder, letting her know how proud he is of her. Lorelai lets out the breath she was holding once she knows Liam is secure. She glances up at Luke and smiles, although still tightlipped.

"Ms. Gilmore, you're going to be a great mother," the nurse says.

"She already is," Luke tells the nurse, his fingers playing with Lorelai's hair. "Is Rory stopping by today?" Lorelai shakes her head, unable to take her eyes off the little person in her arms.

"I talked to her this morning when she was on her way to her first class, they started today. She said she'll come by this weekend after Friday Night Dinner." She smiles down at Liam. "Don't worry, Babe, we won't subject you to the House of Usher anytime soon," she promises. Luke chuckles. "Well, if he's going to appreciate anything I do for him, that should top the list."

"He'd also appreciate it if you don't give him coffee until he's at least 30," Luke adds.

"You're the coffee provider," Lorelai reminds him with a raised eyebrow.

"Against my will, you're the addict."

"And proud of it." Lorelai grins.

"So, does he have you?" Luke asks, motioning with a nod to Liam. Lorelai looks back down at Liam.

"Yeah… yeah, he does," Lorelai says, a little more sure than before.

"Do you want to try breastfeeding?" the nurse suggests. Lorelai nods. "This isn't your first, right?"

"No, I know how to do it, my last was a little biter though, hopefully Little Liam here's a little nicer to Mommy," Lorelai kids. She glances up at Luke. "Are you going to be uncomfortable with this?"

"No, this is fine, he's my son. You're not sitting in the middle of my diner in the middle of the afternoon," Luke responds.

"No, but I could," Lorelai says, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Don't even think about it," Luke warns. Lorelai giggles.

"Okay kiddo, lunch time," Lorelai says to Liam. Luke helps her take off her jacket and helps her with her shirt so that Liam can reach her breast. Lorelai tries to lay Liam correctly to get him to latch on, but he doesn't. She shares a worried glance with Luke.

"Premies sometimes have trouble, try tickling his lower lip," the nurse suggests. Lorelai does as told, but Liam just closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.

"Oh," Lorelai gasps, a little upset by this. The nurse walks over to the side of the bed and tries to help but Liam just keeps sleeping. Lorelai looks up at the nurse, clearly growing more upset by this every second.

"Ma'am there's nothing to be worried about," the nurse says, touching Lorelai's shoulder comfortingly. "Premies can have trouble with this, they'd rather sleep than eat. How about I take him back to the nursery and we can try this again in an hour?" Lorelai nods, a tear trickling down her cheek. "Ms. Gilmore, you have nothing to worry about. This isn't your fault, it just happens sometimes." Lorelai shakes her head as if she doesn't actually believe the nurse.

"Just take him," Lorelai whispers. The nurse shares a concerned look with Luke as she takes Liam from Lorelai. She motions for Luke to walk over to the baby carrier with her. With a glance at Lorelai, who's adjusting her clothes and putting her jacket back on, Luke walks over to the baby carrier. The nurse lays Liam down on his back.

"Mr. Danes, you might think about talking to her doctor. It's not unusual for mothers of premature infants to suffer a little depression." Luke nods looking back at Lorelai, who's curling up in fetal position on the bed.

"You think it's post-partum depression?" he asks. The nurse shrugs.

"I can't tell you for sure, but if the doctor thinks so, he can prescribe some medication to help out until she can get back on her feet again," the nurse suggests. "Try to decrease her stress too." Luke nods.

"Okay, thanks." He smiles at Liam as the nurse wheels him out. Luke walks back over to Lorelai, standing in front of her. He reaches out and rubs her arm, sitting down in front of her on the bed.

"Lorelai, you're not Mother Dearest, these things just happen," he says softly.

"They didn't happen when Sookie had Davey and they didn't happen when I had Rory," Lorelai replies, biting her lower lip. Luke places his hand on her chin, stroking her cheek with this thumb. "I think he knows." Another tear trickles down her check and Luke pulls her into his arms, holding her tight.

"There's nothing to know, Lorelai. You're doing great," Luke assures her, but for a slight second, he wonders if he's actually telling the truth.


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes:**

**Just so you know the next chapter will be posted a little late because I'm going home for my sister's wedding today and won't be back for about a week. But please feel free to leave lots of lovely reviews while I'm gone!**

I know a few of you have expressed feelings about the direction the story is going but to me this was a natural progression. Lorelai's had so much happen in her early years, then Christopher hitting her, the twins being born early, and her not sure about her financial situation. To me this was only natural for her, she's a strong person but how much can she take, especially with the hormones and because she never really dealt with a lot of it. I assure you that this whole thing will only serve to make the Luke and Lorelairelationship stronger and more secure, as that is the essence of the story.

Hey, where did **scubaluver** go? Missing your great reviews!

**Rachel -** I'm updating. How's that? j/k. I'm glad you can see LG acting this out cuz when I'm writing that's actually what I'm picturing in my head. Luke wasn't doubting Lorelai's capabilities, he was just worried that she wasn't doing well.

Anyways, here's what you all have been waiting for...

**

* * *

**

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Lorelai was released from the hospital after a few more days. Liam was supposed to be released when she was but he never took to breast feeding so they had to make sure he was adjusted to the bottle before the doctors could check him out. Then Luke and Lorelai were about to take him home, promising to bring him back after a day. Baby Girl Danes is still in the same condition she was in before, but Luke, Lorelai and many others have been checking in on her daily.

Luke finds Lorelai in the nursery with wallpaper and paint samples. Liam is in the crib in the nursery. "I didn't realize that it was already time to redecorate," he comments. Lorelai doesn't respond. "Lorelai, where is Liam going to sleep if we redecorate this room?"

"We'll move the crib into the sewing room," Lorelai responds. She picks up a wallpaper sample with ducks on it and holds it against the wall. Lorelai looks over at Luke, who shakes his head. "You told me I have to stay on maternity leave. I'm going out of my mind with worry about my daughter. I have to take care of a son who hates me so much he won't even take my breastmilk. And my oldest child barely has time to call since she started back in classes. What am I supposed to do?"

"Lorelai, Liam doesn't hate you. Dr. Shaw said it wasn't unusual for a premature infant to had trouble breastfeeding. You should concentrate on other things," Luke says. Lorelai's mouth drops open. "Really Lorelai, spending your time worried about our daughter isn't good for you either. And remember your health is just as important right now. I'm worried about you too." Lorelai closes her mouth, covering it with a hand, as she thinks.

"My daughter's going to hate me too," she whispers, her eyes pools of pain.

"Lorelai…" She shakes her head and walks out of the nursery, dropping the samples to the floor on her way out.

Luke checks on a sleeping Liam and grabs the baby monitor as he walks out of the room and into the bedroom. Yet he finds no Lorelai in the room. Glancing across the hall, he spies her in her sewing room. He sticks the baby monitor in his back pocket and walks in there. Lorelai is looking at a small dress that she had made. "Our daughter is going to love that outfit," he says. Lorelai shakes her head, laying the dress back down on the table.

"I can't do it," she whispers, not looking at Luke.

"Lorelai, you've got to talk to me. Tell me what's going on. I was the one excited about a boy, you wanted to mother another girl all along…"

"You don't always get what you want," she begins to sing. "You don't always get what you want. But sometimes, you get what you need."

"Lorelai?"

"Rolling Stones."

"I've heard of them."

"Have you ever been to one of their concerts? When I was about 14, I wanted to go to one of their concerts and, of course, Mom said no. She'd rather I went to a classical music concert. I'll bet Mom's never even heard of the Rolling Stones." Lorelai huffs. "We can't have a girl. It's like destroying a life before it's even begun. Like a Kennedy, fated to an undesirable experience."

"Lorelai, you're a great mother…" She shakes her head.

"No, I'm not. And Luke, that's not what I'm getting at. My mother's isn't happy with her life. Rory's life is a mess, mine isn't much better. And our daughter is in the hospital fighting for her life. It sucks to be a Gilmore Girl," Lorelai informs Luke. He stares at her.

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Better believe it boyfriend."

"How long ago was it that I was sitting with you in our living room giving you that engagement ring and you were telling me how happy you are with your life, in fact you yelled at your mother when she insisted you were ruining your life? What happened to that? Where was that Lorelai?" Luke yells in frustration. Lorelai rubs her forehead, confused.

"I… I am happy, Luke," Lorelai manages. She turns away from him, scratching her forehead, trying to sort her feelings out.

"Fine, you're happy," Luke snaps before she can clear her head. Luke shakes his head and walks out. After a moment, she hears the front door slam behind him.

Lorelai walks over and picks up the dress again. She sighs. Hearing fussing coming from the nursery, she puts the dress back down and walks out of the room.

* * *

Luke comes home and searches the house for Lorelai. He finds her in Rory's room, asleep on the bed. He watches her for a moment, sleeping peacefully. Then he takes off his shoes and lies down beside her, facing her back, wrapping his arms around her. Lorelai leans back into him. 

"Why do we do this?" Lorelai whispers. "I don't want to fight with you. I hate it. Why bother going to dinner with the Draytons, if we're just going to tear ourselves apart on our own?" Luke kisses the back of her head. She leans over onto her back so that she looks up at him. "Want to hear my apology?" Luke smiles. He leans in and kisses her on the lips. "Oh you had the same one…" They kiss again, as Lorelai reaches up to cup the back of Luke's head, lengthening their kiss a bit.

"Where's Liam?" Luke asks. Lorelai raises one eyebrow suggestively. Luke shakes his head.

"He's upstairs. You left the baby monitor on the couch when you stormed out, so I brought it in here with me," Lorelai says. Luke nods. He looks up and around the room.

"You know, I've never really been in here. I mean when Rory was young it would have been weird and since then… I don't know, it's always been her space…" Lorelai smiles. She glances over at the bulletin board full of Yale posters.

"Yeah… even now, it's her space…" Lorelai says quietly. "Luke, I miss her. I miss her so much I can't imagine raising another girl. I can't imagine mothering a child, a little girl, after all Rory and I have been through together."

"Lorelai…"

"Are you mad?"

"I just wish you had mentioned these concerns to me earlier. Rory's raised and she's perfect, wonderful, and that's not going to change if you mother our daughter. You aren't breaking some unwritten law if you raise another girl. It's not like some lotion you can use up. Love. Motherhood. It's not like that. You can love our daughter. You can hold her and take care of her and teach her healthy habits, which don't include junk food and coffee. The only thing that's going to keep you from doing that is you." Lorelai stares at him, as if she's trying to work through the fog in her mind. She leans in and kisses him. "I'm here for you Lorelai, every step away."

"I just call out your name?" Lorelai teases. Luke smiles.

"And where ever I am, I'll come running." He leans in and kisses her soft and deep. Lorelai pulls away, eyes closed, her head still spinning.

"Okay, what's first?" Lorelai asks.

"Well, first, she needs a name," Luke says, watching her eyes for a sign. Lorelai takes a deep breath.

"I don't know, Luke."

"If we give her a name, it's like she's real. Like she's got something to fight for," Luke tells Lorelai, who nods. She purses her lips. "Did you pick a name?"

"Well, I had, before all this happened, I was going to name her Molly after Molly Ringwald, who portrayed me in another lifetime." Luke furrows his eyebrows.

"But you changed your mind?" Lorelai nods.

"Yes, I want to name her Olivia," Lorelai says.

"Olivia?" She nods. "After some woman who told us to 'get physical'?" Luke asks, a little unsure about Lorelai's choice.

"Not bad advice," Lorelai jokes. Luke gives her a look. Lorelai wiggles her eyebrows again.

"Lorelai…" he warns. She giggles.

"No, I meant for Olivia de Havilland," she says. Luke looks away trying to remember who this is. "She played Melanie in Gone With the Wind."

"And…?"

"And, what no one remembers about that is a few years after that she took five years off of making movies because she was fighting to be able to get out of the role that Warner Brothers had her stuck in of the sweet beautiful waif so that she could actually win an Oscar and not just be nominated. She fought it through the courts and won. Then she came back with four fabulous movies including To Each His Own, in which she played a completely different role and from which she won the first of her two Oscars."

"Good for her," Luke says, still a little confused. "I still don't understand what I'm supposed to get from that."

"Olivia de Havilland was amazing. She fought and she persevered and she came out stronger than she was before. I want our daughter to have that spirit," Lorelai explains. Luke nods. "Okay? You're not going to name her Emily now, are you?" Luke chuckles.

"No, I think Olivia's a great name," Luke responds.

"Good." Lorelai grins as she kisses him again.

"Olivia Annabel Danes."

"Annabel?"

"Like the Poe poem."

"Ah, to remind her of the night she was conceived." They both laugh. "We'll keep that to ourselves."

"We'd better," Luke says.

"Lorelai, Luke, Liam and Livvie. Wow, we are the Spencers. That's enough to make me nauseous," Lorelai notes.

"Me too, we'll have to call her Olivia," Luke agrees. He takes her hand in his as he gets regains his somber tone. "Lorelai, I'm serious about this, what can I do to help?"

"Well, Warren Justice, the words coming from your mouth," Lorelai teases. Luke shakes his head. She smiles. Then she intertwines their fingers, bringing his hand to her lips and kissing it. "I need you to get me through this."


	61. Chapter 61

**Notes**:

Hey all, long time. All is well, sister's married off and I'm back to writing (shocker). The wedding was so beautiful. I cried so much. Man, it made me really want showLL to get married soon so badly!

About the baby name: I can't tell you how many names I went through before I chose Olivia. I had chosen her middle name back when Luke and Lorelai got together, which is why I had Luke quote Annabel Lee, but her first name was a toughie. I wanted a story to go with the name and I remembered the story about Olivia de Havilland and thought it was perfect for the story and that's why I ended up with Olivia instead of the other names I was considering.

**Ronata - **Thanks for the best wishes, wedding was great. You're right, Luke is the difference. She needs to realize what she's got in Luke.**  
**

**You've Got Wings Baby** - I'm glad you like the baby name. Gertrude.. no way, didn't even make the top ten. Yeah Lorelai's just feeling overwhelmed and though she feels like she's doing a bad job, she's really not and she can say it all she wants but she loves her kids, she really does.

**cywen69 **- Chris will be back sometime in the next 5-10 chapters. He won't question the paternity because she would have had to be 11 months pregnant when the twins were born for them to be his. I think I've got enough drama going on here and I really don't want to do a whole thing with Chris trying to be with Lorelai again, especially because he already told her that he knows she loves Luke.

**rachel -** I'm interested in why you think the Lorelai in my story is so different from the one on the show. I try for the most part to make my Lorelai exactly like showLorelai. I love when L&L fight on the show too, I mean Say Something is one of my favorite episodes. So fabulous. You can see the undeniable chemistry between them during the fights. (I think I've said all of that to you before.)

**lukelover87 **- Carolyn, I'm so glad you love the story and that you liked the engagment scene. You had me all worried that it wasn't Luke like. Also thank you much for my 800th review! (a special gold star is headed your way)

**Robinpoppins **- Okay, you said you typed out a long review and it was lost, was it actually longer than the one you left? I think Nashville is central time zone, but I'm not even sure. I love how you summed up the whole story, wow, and really got what I'm trying to do with Lorelai, or at least why Lorelai's in the situation she's in, why everything's suddenly coming down on her at once. I'm so glad you think that Olivia de Havilland story is a Lorelai-like way to name her baby, I thought so too. I'm trying to remember myself what Rory was going through and yes the 'Chris issues' was some of it but it was also close to when she was forced to drop that class at Yale and couldn't get ahold of Lorelai and ended up crying on Dean's shoulder. And it is so like Luke to be frustrated by not being able to just fix everything, cuz that's what he does, he fixes things.

**squiddrude **- Welcome back! I'm glad I'm putting in just the right amount of fluff/drama for you. Basically that's what I'm going for. A Goldilocks of stories if you will.

**smileyGGfan **- Thanks for the congrats on the big 6-0. You know, I didn't even realize it myself. Haha, yes I got all the L's in, but she will be called Olivia in the future.

**flcrkr - **You're right we did discuss the proposal on the JJ thread a few weeks ago. I'm glad you said you liked the way he did it in this story. I mean, I think a proposal pretty much is going to be sappy no matter how you do it, but I tried to make to not too sacharrine sweet, so I'm glad you thought so.

* * *

**NICU**

A week later, Lorelai and Luke are called by Doctor Shaw to discuss how to proceed with Olivia. Luke carries Liam in his arms as they had no time to call a sitter, or a desire since Liam's still quite young. Lorelai has her arms folded across her chest, looking tense as ever. "There's one healthy looking boy," Dr. Shaw says smiling as he walks up to them. He cups the back of Liam's head as he looks at the child. "He's doing well?"

"If he would only sleep at night instead of during the day, I didn't realize I was bringing home a hamster," Luke jokes.

"Ah, that'll happen. He'll adjust but I wouldn't expect a full nights sleep anytime soon," Dr. Shaw tells them. He glances over at Lorelai. "And how are you doing young lady?"

"Fine," she says and sniffs. "I'm just fine." Dr. Shaw and Luke share a look.

"Did you suggest…?" Dr. Shaw begins to ask but Luke cuts him off with a shake of his head. Lorelai looks confused and glances at each of them.

"Dr. Shaw just suggested that maybe you'd like to meet with him, get a prescription for something to help you out," Luke explains vaguely. Lorelai squints one eye.

"A prescription?" she repeats.

"Yeah it's for…" Luke glances at the doctor.

"An off brand of Prozac," Dr. Shaw finishes. Lorelai scoffs.

"I'm fine," she insists with a shake of her head. "I can't believe you're going to him behind my back as if I'm Lisa Rowe or something."

"Lorelai, I wasn't – I didn't. He just suggested it the last time we were in, but I said I'd talk if over with you if I thought it was necessary," Luke says. Lorelai huffs again, tightening her arms across her chest, apparently not pleased with Luke's explanation. Luke glances with one eye up at the doctor who's gritting his teeth, they share a look that says they agree but neither of them wants to upset Lorelai right now.

"Why don't we go in and see your daughter?" Dr. Shaw suggests, trying to move them to a slightly safer topic. Luke glances at Lorelai, who sniffs but nods. "Gail, can you take Little Liam while we go in and see his sister?" Dr. Shaw asks the nurse who's walking out of the NICU.

"Sure will, come here Sweetie," she responds. Gail takes Liam from Luke and walks away. Lorelai glances over her shoulder at Gail and takes a deep breath. Luke touches her elbow and she blinks and looks at him.

"You okay?" he asks. Lorelai nods, pursing her lips.

"Okay?" Dr. Shaw asks.

"You're the Pied Piper," Lorelai replies, motioning for the doctor to go first. Luke and Lorelai follow the doctor into the room where they don sterile scrubs and then enter the NICU. They all walk over to Olivia's neonatal bed, Luke and Lorelai on one side and Dr. Shaw on the other. The doctor picks up Olivia's chart just to recheck what he already knows.

"So, Olivia's condition is the same, it hasn't improved or deteriorated," Dr. Shaw tells them.

"You made us come all the way here to tell us that?" Lorelai snaps.

"Lorelai," Luke warns, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, seriously, you could have called us and told us that, but you wouldn't have had to because we already knew, we knew yesterday and the day before and the day before that, that's how it's been since the moment she was born. So you have quite a nerve making us come all the way here, hoping for a change, and then saying that," Lorelai yells. Luke swallows, pressing his lips together.

"She likes her tirades when she gets upset," Luke tells Dr. Shaw, who raises his eyebrows. Lorelai glares at Luke.

"Ms. Gilmore, I didn't call you here just to tell you that. I wanted to tell you that we have given her all the injections of surfactant that we can give. She's been on a ventilator for two weeks now and that's not very healthy. I think we've gotten to a point where if we don't take her off now, she'll never get off life support," Dr. Shaw explains.

"Okay, then let's do that," Luke says agreeably. Lorelai is staring down at Olivia, running her tongue over her top teeth.

"I need to warn you though, if Olivia hasn't built up enough surfactant then she won't be able to breathe on her own yet. So it's up to you and there are a few options. We can leave her on life support until we know she's ready. We can take her off today and hope for the best. Or we can decide a set day that we'll take her off," Dr. Shaw tells them. Luke glances at Lorelai to get a response, but she's still looking down at her daughter. Luke squeezes her shoulder, trying to get a response.

"Lorelai, we have to make this decision," he tells her. Lorelai tears her eyes from the glass case and looks up at Luke, seeming very vulnerable. "Did you hear what Dr. Shaw said?" She nods slightly.

"Yes," she breathes and clears her throat. "Yes, I heard." Lorelai glances over at the doctor. "If we take Olivia off of the life support, can we put her back on if she deteriorates?" Dr. Shaw nods.

"Yes we can, but I need to warn you, if we do that, it's very likely that she will never come off the life support," he replies. Lorelai purses her lips, trying to decide. She looks back at Luke.

"What do you want to do?" she asks him. Luke turns her toward him, placing a hand on each of her shoulders.

"I think I'm willing to give it a try, but it's up to you, you're her mother," Luke responds.

"I'm willing to give it a try too. If she's anything like her namesake, she'll come through just fine, even stronger," Lorelai says. Luke nods, his eyes smiling.

"If she's anything like you, she'll rip the tube out herself," Luke teases. Lorelai gives him a slight smile. Luke lets go of one shoulder, wrapping the other arm completely around both of her shoulders, pulling Lorelai to his chest. She lays her head on his shoulder, watching Olivia. Luke nods to Dr. Shaw.

"Okay, well we can get that going now. You two should plan on staying around here for the day, just in case," Dr. Shaw warns them. They nod. He places a hand over the glass, closing his eyes for a moment. Lorelai bites her lower lip, wrapping an arm around Luke's back, pulling him tighter to her.

The nurse brings Dr. Shaw some gloves which he puts on and together they unhook the respirator from Olivia. The nurse picks up an infant ambubag helping Olivia adjust and then after a minute she removes the bag. All four of them are silent and still listening and waiting. Dr. Shaw leans in and listens, a small smile forms on his face. "She's breathing," he announces. Luke smiles broadly and Lorelai actually smiles for once, blinking back the tears that were forming in her eyes. Dr. Shaw touches Olivia's arm and then closes the glass.

"Now, that moment's over, but we just have to keep hoping it wasn't just a moment and she'll continue to improve," Dr. Shaw says.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Luke asks. Dr. Shaw shakes his head.

"There's nothing more we can do for her right now," Dr. Shaw responds.

"But she's going to be fine now?" Lorelai asks. Dr. Shaw shrugs.

"It's hard to say. I don't want to get your hopes up just to have her decompensate. All I can say is that babies are resilient, that much is in her favor, but for now we'll just have to wait and see," Dr. Shaw responds, trying to be as optimistic as possible.

"Oh…" Lorelai whispers, her chin trembling again as she reaches out hand to touch the glass. She presses her lips together as she tries to keep control of herself. Luke kisses her forehead, reminding Lorelai that he's still there.

"Why don't you two get something to eat, check on your son and come on back here a little later, hopefully we'll have some good news for you," Dr. Shaw suggests.

"Come on, Lorelai," Luke says, putting his hand back on her shoulder, trying to drag her away. She hesitates for a moment and then looks up at him. "You called Rory, she'll be here soon." Lorelai nods. "Come on." Lorelai glances once more at Olivia.

"Olivia," she whispers, trying to let her daughter hear her voice one last time. "Okay, let's go." She turns, takes Luke's hand and they walk out of the NICU.


	62. Chapter 62

**Notes:**

**purtyinpink71121** - Did you ever figure out what movie that was from? I know they had that whole 'quite' thing in the third episode of GG.

**cywen69** - I apologize for bringing up bad memories, but I'm glad your little one was okay.

**DreamTramp** - You can do that with Palm Pilot? I know very little about technological things like that, but that's cool.

**Robinpoppins - **Yeah I do know a bit about medicine, okay a little more than a bit. I took Sign Language in college and loved it, I may have told you this before. I took a trip to Gallaudet about a year ago, it was just a fascinating place. I was watching that House episode too! My friend asked me what was wrong and I said 'oh, he has aphagia'. Hee. The breakdown in the park is one of my favorite LL moments too. Such a beautiful moment. I'm always building up to something and a lot of it has to do with Lorelai.

**shoppingchik1314 **- Thank you for your lovely compliments. I have written more. I'm constantly writing more.

* * *

**Dr. Ridenour's Office**

The nurse guides Luke and Lorelai to the door of the doctor's office, Lorelai is holding Liam in her arms. She opens the door to the office. "Ms. Gilmore and Mr. Danes are here to see you," the nurse says. Dr. Ridenour immediately gets up from behind the desk and walks over to them.

"Luke, Lorelai, I'm so glad you made this appointment, please come in," she says, shaking each of their hands. Luke puts his hand on Lorelai's upper back, guiding her to the two chairs in front of Dr. Ridenour's desk. Dr. Ridenour closes the door and walks over to stand in front of Lorelai, leaning back against her desk. "So, this must be little… I'm sorry what was his name again?" She's looking at Lorelai, but Lorelai's staring down at Liam. Luke rubs Lorelai's back gently.

"Liam. Well, William really, he was named after my father," Luke explains. Dr. Ridenour smiles.

"That's sweet. He must be proud," Dr. Ridenour responds.

"Well, he's, um, not around anymore." Dr. Ridenour nods.

"Still, I'm sure he's proud anyways," she replies. Luke smiles gratefully. Lorelai glances over at Luke.

"He is," Lorelai adds softly. Luke nods, his eyes smiling at her.

"When I heard you were coming in I called and checked on your daughter, Olivia. They say she's doing nicely off of the respirator," Dr. Ridenour says. Luke watches Lorelai, but she glances away.

"Yeah, she's doing well, they say she may be well enough to come home soon," Luke responds. Dr. Ridenour clicks her tongue and nods. She turns and walks around her desk.

"Well I'd like you two to meet Dr. Sally Buxton, she's a colleague of mine. She's going to participate in our visit," Dr. Ridenour says, nodding to the woman to her right. They all watch Lorelai for a moment, who still doesn't seem fixated on the situation. Dr. Buxton and Dr. Ridenour share a look. "Would you like to take over from here?" Dr. Buxton nods and walks over and sit in the chair closest to Lorelai.

"Lorelai, I think it was a good idea that your husband set up this meeting," Dr. Buxton says softly, cocking her head, trying to gain Lorelai's attention. Lorelai slowly looks at Dr. Buxton, focusing on her.

"Fiancé," Lorelai responds hoarsely and clears her throat. "He's not my husband. We're not married."

"Yet," Luke adds. He looks at Lorelai over her shoulder, she glances slightly at him and nods.

"Right, yet," she agrees, giving him a hint of a smile. She looks back at Dr. Buxton. "Do you want to look at Liam?" Dr. Buxton shakes her head.

"No, no I'm not a pediatrician. That's not why I'm here. I'm not actually in Nancy's practice," Dr. Buxton responds, motioning to Dr. Ridenour. "I'm a doctor, but my certification is in psychiatry. This appointment is for you, Lorelai." Lorelai has a slightly confused expression on her face, but she nods. Dr. Buxton looks over at Luke. "This is why you made the appointment?"

"Yes, it is," Luke agrees.

"You know, maybe it would help if you and I just had a conversation just the two of us, Lorelai. How about that?" Dr. Buxton suggests. Lorelai bites her lower lip.

"Yeah, okay. Fine. Let's play shrink," Lorelai responds as if she couldn't care less. Dr. Buxton laughs, and nods to Dr. Ridenour.

"Okay, well I can take Liam in one of the exam rooms, just to check him out and then Luke and I will come back," Dr. Ridenour says. Luke nods. He looks over at Lorelai.

"You okay?" he asks softly. She nods, seemingly about to cry. "If you want me to stay…" Lorelai shakes her head vigorously.

"No," she squeaks out. "No. Luke, go or you're sure to witness another episode of As The World Turns." Luke chuckles, squeezing her shoulder. He kisses the side of her head.

"Okay," Luke agrees and stands, holding out his arms for Liam. Lorelai carefully hands the baby over to Luke, biting her lip, tense as she watches fix his hold on Liam. He nods to Dr. Ridenour and follows her out of the room.

"So, Lorelai, how about if we just talk, chat, like friends," Dr. Buxton suggests. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"I know what you're trying to get me to say," Lorelai says. She sighs, folding her arms over her chest. Dr. Buxton cocks her head, waiting. "You're trying to get me to say I'm depressed. I'm not. I mean, yes…" She sighs again. "I feel kinda… I'm not depressed. I just had a baby. Two babies. I just got out of the hospital like a week ago. You know, Tom Cruise would not be pleased with this whole conversation."

"Well he doesn't have to know," Dr. Buxton responds, receiving a small smile from Lorelai. "Lorelai, I'm not trying to get you to say anything. I just want to talk about what's been going on. It's been a month since the twins were born?" Lorelai nods. "And what's been going on?"

"Well, the twins were delivered by c-section. And I stayed in the hospital for a few weeks until…" Lorelai pauses, noticing Dr. Buxton shaking her head.

"No, I mean, how have you been feeling?" Lorelai purses her lips looking down at her lap and shrugs.

"Fine I guess. Maybe… I don't know… a little overwhelmed I guess," Lorelai recognizes. She purses her lips, taking a deep breath.

"You've got a lot going on, I guess." Lorelai nods

"Yeah, it's just… it's a lot. There's Liam and Olivia. And I just got home from the hospital myself. And the inn which is running out of money. And Rory's away at college. And Luke. God, Luke." Lorelai shakes her head. She looks back up at Dr. Buxton, flashing a smile. "Didn't mean to unload all of that there. It's just that everyone needs something from me. I feel like I'm being pulled every which way and every time I try, I ended failing at it." Lorelai runs a hand through her hair. "I should be able to handle it, right?" Lorelai sighs. "I mean, I know how to be a single mom, I've done it before."

"Is that what you think Lorelai? You think that you aren't a good mother?" Dr. Buxton asks. Lorelai shrugs. "Let me ask you this, if you had to do it alone. I mean, just you taking care of your son for a day, could you do it? Do you think you could do it?"

"I would have to, wouldn't I?" Lorelai figures.

"I mean, if you knew that you had someone to fall back on, Luke. If you knew you had a support system… could you do it alone?" Lorelai looks down at her lap.

"I – I…" Lorelai shrugs. She looks up at Dr. Buxton. "I love my son. I love my daughter. It's not that. It's nothing like that. It's just… everytime…I can't do it. When he cries, I hold him close. I talk to him. I sing to him. I feed him. I change his diaper. And it never works." She sighs sadly. "It never works. He just keeps crying and crying until Luke comes home or Lane or Clara stop over. I'm failing him and… I think he knows…"

"Knows what Lorelai?"

"That it's not the same. I mean with Rory, it was easy to love her. She was all I had. She was my world. But now I feel like I'm giving little pieces of my heart to every person and it's not enough… it's not enough."

"Lorelai, let me tell you a story," Dr. Buxton begins. Lorelai claps her hands together a few times lightly.

"Story time? I haven't had story time in years," Lorelai remarks. Dr. Buxton chuckles.

"When I was younger, about… well how old is Rory?"

"Nineteen," Lorelai answers.

"Oh, well, younger than that. About eight or so, I guess. My mom would pack my lunch before I went to school and then she'd hand me a quarter for milk. But when I was little older, she changed jobs and would be gone before I got up to go to school. So there was a canister on the shelf in the kitchen and she told me that there would always be quarters in there for my milk and I should just get it myself. And she was right. The quarters were always there. Even when she couldn't be there to give me the quarters, they were there. And I never saw her refill the canister, but the quarters were always there. That's how love works. There's not a set amount you have and when you give it away, there's none left. You always replace it with more love, more children, just more love. You're never going to run out. And even when you can't be there for your children, they'll still be loved because you know they need it."

"I never knew my life could be compared to quarters," Lorelai jokes lightly.

"Lorelai, I have to ask you a question, a pretty personal question, but I'm required to just so you know."

"Okay…" Lorelai says with uncertainty.

"When you're holding Liam and he's crying and you can't get him to stop, what do you do?" Dr. Buxton asks. Lorelai shrugs.

"Just… I don't know… hope that Luke or Lane comes home soon. Just hold him longer, I guess… sing to him. Talk to him. Just… wait it out."

"But you don't ever shake him, just a bit?" Lorelai's eyes go wide.

"No!" she exclaims, with more emotion than she's shown this entire time. "No, of course not! I'm not a good mother, but I would never…!" Dr. Buxton nods and touches Lorelai's arm lightly.

"I believe you, Lorelai. I just had to ask," Dr. Buxton assures her. Lorelai nods, folding her hands back in her lap. "Tell me about your support system, do you feel that you have people to back you up?" Lorelai shrugs.

"Umm..." Lorelai looks conflicted.

"Your daughter maybe?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"Rory's at Yale. She's got more important things to worry about. She's going to be the next Kofi Annan or Christiane Amanpour… whatever comes first." Dr. Buxton smiles warmly.

"What about your parents?" Lorelai snorts. "Okay, I'm going to take that as a no. Well, what about Luke?" Lorelai sighs looking away. "He's not supportive?"

"Oh he is," Lorelai admits. "I just hate… he shouldn't have to. This isn't what he signed up for. He's got so much to deal with. April. The diner. So much. He shouldn't have to also do everything for me."

"Isn't that what marriage is about?" Dr. Buxton asks.

"We're not married, I told you that," Lorelai repeats, sounding frustrated. Dr. Buxton purses her lips, deciding to change direction.

"So do you feel like you're all alone in this?" Dr. Buxton asks. Lorelai looks down at her hands and shrugs. "Do you ever feel like everything would be just fine without you?" Lorelai looks up at her.

"Like Rory? I mean she's got Yale. And Luke's…" Lorelai sighs. "Are you asking if I've ever thought of escaping?"

"In a way…" Lorelai looks confused. "I'm talking about suicide Lorelai."

"Oh!" Lorelai shakes her head vigorously. "No. Never. Just… an escape… that would be good sometime."

"Well what do you do to escape? I mean what do you do to relieve stress?" Lorelai glances out the window, possibly wanting to escape herself at that moment. "Lorelai?"

"I don't know…" she admits honestly. "There's a lot to do. The kids. And the inn. And finding money. And Rory. And my parents. And the renovation," Lorelai says in a monotone, still staring out the window.

"Well, I-" but Dr. Buxton is interrupted by Luke and Dr. Ridenour who enter the room. Luke's eyes instantly search out Lorelai, who hasn't turned her head. He quickly walks to her side, lightly placing his hand on her shoulder. When she doesn't respond, he looks up at Dr. Buxton. "Lorelai?" Lorelai glances up at Dr. Buxton and then up at Luke.

"Are you ready to go?" Lorelai asks Luke softly.

"Well, I…" he stammers, not exactly sure what to say. Lorelai stands, picking up her purse as if Luke had agreed to her request.

"Lorelai, this is a lot to work through. But you're not alone. You're not the only new mother who's gone through this," Dr. Buxton says.

"Great, me and Brooke Shields will have a little party," Lorelai grumps.

"But we need to start working through this. I'm going to recommend 12 weekly sessions of therapy, one on one, just the two of us." Lorelai purses her lips. "It's the only way we're going to get you through this."

"Fine," Lorelai responds shortly. Dr. Buxton nods and picks up a prescription pad.

"And I'm going to give you a prescription for Lexapro."

"No," Lorelai responds instantly.

"It will help. The side affects aren't that bad and-"

"No!" Lorelai shouts interrupting her. She sighs. "I'll go to therapy but I won't take that stuff. No." She reaches out her arms to Luke and he hands over Liam. Then she walks out the door, not looking back. Luke sighs.

"We're only in the second mile of the marathon aren't we?" Luke asks, sorrowfully. Dr. Buxton nods.

"She's put you in a tough place there Luke. You have to support her and not support her at the same time. But if it gets worse, fill the prescription." She hands him the piece of paper. Luke looks down at it and nods.

"If it gets worse," he mutters. Then he shakes his head and walks out the door.


	63. Chapter 63

**Notes:**

With spoilers starting to come out about GG, I'm going to again put my little warning in. Please please please, don't mention spoilers in reviews. Don't hint. Don't say it's going to be sad, or it's going to be great. I don't want to know. It's not that I don't want reviews, because I do, I love reviews, I just don't want to be spoiled. Thank you all, and on to the chapter.**  
**

**sarahb2007 - **I think it was Katie who wrote to me that her face was right in front of the screen as she was reading it. Kind of a funny image in my mind.

**lukelover87** - Yes, I know it's an odd postpregnancy story, a little unusual for Luke and Lorelai, but I felt that this is where the story was leading. I'm glad it seems realistic to you.

**rachel - **I think a lot of it is that when things go wrong, even if it's no one's fault, Lorelai tends to blame herself. But Luke is there and she just needs to keep remind herself that things are different this time, Luke is there. And I think I responded to all the rest of that elsewhere.

**javajunkie101 - **They weren't forcing Luke to fill the prescription, they just suggested that if things got worse, it might a be a good idea.

**LLfreak8285 **- Yeah Gallaudet is a beautiful campus, but don't step off it or you'll be in the wrong neighborhood. I love that you said 'don't be a stranger', made me laugh.

* * *

**Outside the NICU**

Lorelai is standing there watching Olivia, holding a cup of coffee. As she takes a sip of coffee, she feels a hand on her shoulder. Lorelai jumps in surprise, almost spilling her coffee. Seeing Rory, Lorelai throws her arms around her elder daughter. "Rory! You should watch those hands, you almost caused the Great Coffee Disaster of 2003!"

"Mom, it's 2004," Rory reminds her.

"Oh, right," Lorelai realizes, wrinkling her nose. "I missed that."

"Well you had a busy beginning of the year," Rory comments. Lorelai glances back at Olivia.

"Yes, yes I did," Lorelai says sadly. She purses her lips. "So, how was Friday Night dinner?" Lorelai asks, looking over at Rory, who cocks her head as if to say that Lorelai should know how it was.

"It was… quiet. Gramma and Grampa are worried," Rory responds. Lorelai furrows her eyebrows.

"About what? What on Earth do Mr. and Mrs. Hirohito have to worry about? Are they having money problems? As if! Are they waiting in baited breath to find out if their daughter is going to live? Obviously not! And are they ashamed that they may have to admit they don't love their children? Well, that's – uh – actually that one is true," Lorelai realizes. Rory smiles. She pats Lorelai's arm.

"Gramma and Grampa love you, they just don't know how to show it," Rory tells Lorelai, who raises an eyebrow.

"Well they could try not treating me like I'm a leper," Lorelai gripes. Rory shakes her head, still smiling.

"And Mom, you know you love Liam and Olivia. You wouldn't be standing out here freaking out if you didn't. You wouldn't be worried about how to provide for them or how to raise them if you didn't love them. So just think about that one," Rory says. Lorelai frowns Rory reaches out and rubs Lorelai's arm. "Come on Mom."

"Rory, I just…" Lorelai scratches her forehead. "It was so easy with you. It was just the two of us so if you didn't love me and I didn't love you then we would have no one. But this isn't the same. They have Luke and you and April and all of Stars Hallow and your grandparents."

"Mom, I didn't love you because there was no one else, I loved you because you're you and you're great," Rory responds.

"I don't feel great. I screwed up, I created this situation. Olivia's in there because of me. Why didn't you ever warn me how much I suck at this? I mean I was eating all the wrong foods and doing all the wrong things up until the night you were born, why didn't you remind me of that?" Lorelai rants.

"Well, the fact that I wasn't born yet might have something to do with the fact that I didn't know about it," Rory replies. Lorelai huffs, a hand going to her hip, using the other to drink some of the coffee. "Besides, no matter what you did before I was born, I turned out just fine. And Luke told me the doctor said it wasn't unusual for twins to be born up to 9 weeks early and Liam and Olivia were only born 7 weeks early," Rory says in an attempt to assure her mother. Lorelai bites her lower lip and nods slowly. She reaches out, wrapping her arms around Rory, who puts her arms around Lorelai.

"Oh Kid, I don't know what I'd do without you. You did turn out just fine, no, better than fine, Kid, you can move mountains," Lorelai says, hugging Rory tight. Rory smiles.

"Thank you Dr. Suess," Rory answers. She is about to let go of Lorelai, when Lorelai squeezes her tighter. "Oh, still hugging, still hugging!" They giggle, remembering times past.

Lorelai finally lets her daughter go, sniffing and quickly wiping a finger under her nose. "Really, Rory, I mean it," Lorelai says seriously, tousling Rory's hair.

"Oh Mom," Rory says, blushing, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Oh Dad!" Rory exclaims, her eyes widening.

"Dad? I thought Luke was…" Lorelai glances over her shoulder and sees Christopher standing at the end of the hall with a small bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Christopher," she mutters. Then she turns her head slightly towards Rory. "Dad? You called him Dad?" Lorelai asks in a whisper.

"No, I – well yeah I did but it was – I was just surprised," Rory explains, also in a whisper. "Where is Luke anyways?"

"Luke – he's, he is…" Lorelai stops whispering as Christopher finally approaches them. She smiles brightly.

"Hey Gilmores," Christopher greets them with a smile.

"Hey you," Lorelai responds, almost joyfully. Chris glances over at Rory.

"Hey Rory," he adds, hoping she'll take his hint.

"Hey," Rory says coldly. Chris glances back at Lorelai, who presses her lips together, giving Rory a disappointed look. "What are you doing here?" Rory asks plaintively. Chris's mouth drops open, still surprised to get this treatment from Rory.

"Emily told me what happened," Chris answers, looking back over at Lorelai.

"She did?" Lorelai asks, a little surprised and a little sad at the same time. "She told you to come?" Chris sighs, reluctantly shaking his head.

"No, she didn't," Chris admits. Rory gives him a disgusted look.

"But you came anyways," Rory notes, clearly not seeming very happy with his decision. Chris purses his lips, realizing he's losing Rory more every second.

"Yes." Chris looks back at Lorelai. "I thought you could use a friend." Lorelai smiles softly.

"You're right, I do need a friend," Lorelai agrees. She and Chris share a one armed hug as Rory looks on in shock.

"You're just letting him go like that!" Rory exclaims. Lorelai looks over at her daughter with surprise.

"What?"

"I just can't believe you can just let it all go. I don't understand how you can just forgive him like that, after what he did!"

"He is your dad, Rory," Lorelai reminds Rory.

"No, Luke's my dad. Luke has never hurt you, physically or emotionally and he never would. And Luke loves me, he'd never let anything happen to either one of us," Rory contends. Lorelai draws in a breath slowly, glancing over at Christopher and then back at Rory.

"Hun, it happened to me, not you, I think I should be able to decide what to do about it. It happened a year ago, Sweets. It's all over. Things are completely different now," Lorelai says. Rory shakes her head in disappointment. Lorelai reaches out and rubs Rory's arm. "There comes a point when you just have to forgive and forget." Rory crosses her arms. "You live, you learn, or so says Alanis." Lorelai gives Rory a pointed look. Rory sighs, not really pleased that her mom's trying to force her into this. "Okay?"

"Okay…" Rory says. Lorelai watches Rory a moment, making sure that Rory's not going to explode. Rory looks over at Christopher, the distain still showing on her face.

"We're going to have to try to work through this Rory, I'm the only father you've got, Kid," Chris says to Rory, making her even more angry.

"You're not a father and you never have been, don't think you can start now," Rory retorts. Lorelai looks saddened and disappointed that Rory's reacting this way. She presses her lips together, trying to think of what to say to mend fences. Rory sighs, trying to figure out how to placate Lorelai without letting Chris gain any ground. "You know, I'm just going to go see Liam," Rory decides, thinking it would be best for her to just not to have to be in Chris's presence at this point. She glances over at Lorelai. "Where's my baby brother?"

"Luke took him back to Stars Hallow when he left to go make some money," Lorelai responds.

"Okay, then I'm going to go to the diner, are you going to come?" Lorelai glances over at Christopher, biting her lower lip she looks back at Rory.

"Later," Lorelai responds. Rory raises an eyebrow. "I promise, Luke's been making me come home at least to sleep." Rory nods.

"Okay, then I'll see you at home." They hug. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too, Sweets, to the moon and back," Lorelai whispers, hugging her elder daughter tightly. Letting go, she rubs Rory's arms, not quite ready for Rory to leave. Rory glances over at Chris.

"Bye Chris," she says softly, with none of the disgusted attitude she had before. Chris smiles softly.

"Bye Rory." Rory smiles at Lorelai, who ruffles her hair and then walks off. Lorelai watches Rory leave, almost wistfully. Chris rubs Lorelai's arm. She looks back at him.

"I meant what I said. I'm glad you came," Lorelai admits.

"Good, I'm glad," Chris responds. He hands her the flowers. "Congrats on the two little ones." Lorelai smells them.

"Thanks." Lorelai glances at Olivia and then over at Chris. "Let's sit." They walk over to the nearby bench and sit down.

"You okay?" Chris asks.

"Yeah..." Lorelai gives him a knowing look, then she shakes her head. "Actually no, I'm not. It's like everything is crumbling to pieces at once. Rory and you fighting. The twins." She shrugs, looking down at the flowers. "I don't really know…" Lorelai sighs glancing down at her hands, seeing the engagement ring on her finger. Then she looks up at Chris shyly. "I should tell you, Luke and I are engaged, we're getting married." She shows him the ring. Chris takes her hand, getting a good look at the ring. He seems very shocked.

"Wow," Chris manages. Lorelai presses her lips together. "Well, Lorelai, I'm happy for you. You're finally going to have it, the whole package. Mom, Dad, kids. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks," Lorelai says softly. She glances down at the ring, watching it sparkle, a small smile plays on her lips.

"You finally realized what I was telling you?" Chris asks. Lorelai looks up at him, confused. "I told you that you would eventually realize that you loved Luke."

"Oh." Lorelai glances back down at the ring, sitting back. "Yeah… yeah I guess." She takes a deep breath. Chris rubs her shoulder.

"Well good," Chris responds, not getting that Lorelai's answer wasn't necessarily certain. Lorelai scratches her forehead, lost in thought. Then she remembers their conversation and looks up at Chris.

"Hey, did you bring their gift?" Lorelai asks. Chris chuckles.

"Naw, I came right from work, so I didn't have time to stop home and get it."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you that, it'll be a surprise when I bring it up or you could come to Boston to get it."

"Is it a dirt bike?" Chris laughs.

"No, Lucy Shepard, it's not a dirt bike." Chris keeps laughing, causing Lorelai to laugh too. "It's good to hear you laugh." Lorelai nods.

"Yeah…" She thinks about it for a moment. "I really can't remember the last time I did that."

"Your son is fine though?" Lorelai nods.

"Yeah, Liam, he's doing great, he's already caught up in weight with other month old infants. But Olivia…" Lorelai shakes her head. She stands and walks back to the glass to look at Olivia. Chris follows her standing behind her.

"Which one is she?" Lorelai points. "She's beautiful." Lorelai nods. Chris and Lorelai are now standing in the same position as when Rory was born. "She's perfect. Just like Rory." Lorelai presses her lips together, staring at Olivia.

"Just like Rory," Lorelai repeats softly.


	64. Chapter 64

**Notes**:

I have been asked to remind you all again that this is a Luke and Lorelai fic. Yes, Chris will be in and out because Lorelai has to eventually deal with what happened, but I promise now, as I have before, Lorelai will never be with anyone but Luke. Never fear, I'm not ASP.

**hollywoodgrl **- Haha, not a total asshole. What a way to put it. Made me laugh.

**LorLukealways **- True, I don't like how she always forgives him either, but she does. Remember, forgive and forget are two different things.

**flcrkr **- They've talked a few times since he attacked her. A month later when Chris told her Jess told him and when Lorelai was in her fifth (I think I'm not positive) month of pregnancy and Lorelai told him that she and Luke were having twins together.

* * *

**Luke's Diner**

"Luke! Your third favorite daughter is here!" Rory calls walking in the diner. "Oh!" she exclaims, realizing that the diner is packed. Her face turns red. "I should have realized…" Luke chuckles, walking over to her.

"Hey Rory," Luke responds. They hug.

"Third favorite daughter?" Miss Patty asks. "Luke, do you really rank your children?" Luke gives Rory a look.

"Sorry, I really didn't think before I said it," Rory admits. Luke shakes his head.

"No, Patty, I don't," Luke answers. "Where's your mom?"

"She's at the hospital," Rory says.

"Couldn't convince her to come back with you?" Rory shakes her head. Luke nods, his hands on his hips.

"She said she'd be home tonight," Rory assures him.

"Yeah, I've at least been able to get her to do that." Luke glances at Patty and Babette, who are clearly listening in on the conversation. Luke motions with his head for Rory to follow him. They walk over to the curtain. "Did she seem… okay?" Rory shrugs.

"She seemed… sad, I guess. She didn't seem like Mom."

"Yeah…" Luke shakes his head sadly.

"What's going on?"

"Dr. Buxton says she's going through post-partum depression. She gave me a prescription of something she says will help her get through this, but she won't let me fill it."

"Maybe you should, she doesn't have to take it, but at least it will be around. And if it gets really bad, we'll hit her over the head and shove the pills down her throat. As long as they're not as big as a jawbreaker…" Luke looks confused. "There's a movie, Jawbreaker, where the girl chokes on a jawbreaker and dies cuz it gets stuck in her throat. It totally freaked me out, I couldn't eat for a month without thinking about that."

"That's all it takes? Did Lorelai feel the same?" Rory shakes her head.

"No, Mom's evil, she thought it was a hilarious way to die."

"Oh." Rory giggles at the bewildered look on Luke's face.

"I'm kidding of course, Luke. If she doesn't want to take the pills, then there's no sense in forcing them on her. Paris would be on our case about this." Luke looks slightly freightened at the thought. "Where's Liam?" Rory asks.

"Upstairs," Luke answers, taking the baby monitor out of his back pocket and waving it. "I've been checking on him every 15 minutes."

"Do you mind if I go get him and bring him down here?" Luke shakes his head.

"Not at all, but if you bring him down here, don't let him out of your arms, who knows what the lunatics that live in this town could do to him," Luke replies, casting a sidelong glance at his customers. Rory nods, wide-eyed, trying not to laugh at Luke's utter distain for the townies.

"Kay." Rory disappears through the curtain. Luke runs a hand through his hair.

"Hey Luke, when you gonna pick a date to marry that lady of yours?" Babette calls. Luke sighs, trying to make up his mind about whether he can possibly bolt up the stairs as well. He reluctantly walks over to Babette and Patty's table.

"I think we're going to wait until Olivia comes home from the hospital to pick a date," Luke tells them, realizing he's actually making this decision on his own.

"You're not rethinking it are you?" Patty asks.

"No, of course not," Luke answers quickly.

"Because you did wait a long time for Lorelai and to have children with her and to break up, that would just be too much," Patty tells him.

"Heartbreaking," Babette adds.

"We're not breaking up," Luke assures them. "Why did she say something to you?" Babette and Patty share a look.

"No, Sugar, I haven't seen Lorelai since before she had the twins," Babette answers. Luke breathes a sigh of relief. "But you do seem worried, maybe you should take some time off of work."

"Thank you for the advice, I'll keep it in mind," Luke grumbles. He grabs Patty's empty plate and takes it in the back.

"You think something's going on?" Patty asks Babette, as Rory comes down the stairs with Liam in her arms.

"I dunno, should we ask Rory?" Babette suggests, waving Rory over.

"Nah, let the girl be," Patty responds. Rory sits down in the extra chair that their table with Liam in her arms. "Isn't he a darling?" Babette tickles Liam's chin, cooing at him.

"Actually this is my first time seeing Liam since he got home from the hospital, I've been really busy at school," Rory explains.

"Poor girl, you look pale, are you sure you're eating enough?" Babette asks. Rory smiles.

"Yes, Babette, I'm fine," Rory assures her. Luke walks out of the back and over to them. "Hey, can I get a cup of coffee?"

"For you, right?"

"Well I was going to pour some in Liam's bottle." Rory grins wickedly. Luke folds his arms over his chest.

"You will not get my son addicted to that stuff. He will drink formula until he's old enough for baby food and then its mashed bananas and peas until he's got enough teeth for real vegetables. He can't pitch for the Red Sox on a diet of chocolate and coffee." Rory giggles causing Liam to gurgle.

"Aw, Luke, such a protective father," Patty says, a little amazed.

"Dad, your squishy underbelly is showing," Rory warns. Luke shakes his head as Babette and Patty laugh.

"Hey, was your mom still outside the NICU when you left, cuz I was thinking of going to pick her up?" Luke asks. Rory nods, the smile disappearing from her face.

"Sugar, you look a little peeked. Luke, go get your daughter some coffee," Babette tells look, reaching out to rub Rory's arm. "You okay?"

"Oh yeah," Rory responds a little distracted, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm fine." She glances up at Luke, hoping that he's actually walked away, but he hasn't.

"What?" Luke wonders, concerned. Rory sighs.

"Chris is there," Rory tells him. Luke stares at her, letting the news register.

"Your father?" Rory nods. "He's at the hospital?" Rory nods again. "With Lorelai?"

"Luke, don't worry, he's not going to hurt her," Rory insists.

"When did you become a fan of his?"

"I'm not, I just know he would never hurt her. I mean…" Rory glances over at Babette and Patty who are listening intently. "Can you take Liam a moment?" Rory asks Babette.

"Of course," Babette says eagerly. Rory carefully hands Liam over. She takes Luke's arm, dragging him outside.

"Mom says she's glad he's there, she wanted a friend and she actually seemed to relax a little once he showed up, so I think we should just leave it alone," Rory tells Luke.

"She's my fiancé," Luke reminds Rory.

"I know." Rory purses her lips. "And she knows that too."

"So you think I should just not care that Lorelai's at the hospital with him?" Rory sighs, pressing her lips together.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm not pleased that he's there either. But Mom is. And I think if you go there all upset that he's there, you're just going to get her angry with you, she's already running a short fuse as it is. And I really don't want that to happen, more than anything, Luke. I swear. Just, let her be, she'll come home tonight and he won't come back again, I'll make sure of that. Don't let this become bigger than it is." Rory gives him a pointed look. Luke huffs, pacing a bit. He folds his arms and walks back over to Rory.

"I want this to work Rory."

"So do I." Luke nods. He pulls Rory in, hugging her close. "You're getting really good at that." Luke chuckles. Rory steps away from him, touching his arm. "So we're okay?" Luke nods. "And you and Mom are okay?"

"Lorelai and I are great. And when Olivia comes home, everything will be much better," Luke assures her.


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes:**

I know I already posted this in this story, but a reminder never hurts. Please, please please, **do not put spoilers in your reviews**. I'm not saying, don't review, believe me. I love reviews. I want to marry them. But I'm spoiler free and some people who read what other people say in their reviews are also spoiler free. This includes being optomistic/pessimistic about what may or may not happen in the future on showGG. When the episodes start to air, feel free to comment on what has already been aired. Thank you much for your support.

**squiddrude **- Well, she had already asked if she could call him Dad, but many reviewers said that they didn't think she should always call him Dad. I'm still deciding how she will refer to him most of the time. What do you think?

**cywen69 **- Well, first of all, Luke couldn't just run off to the hospital and leave Liam with Babette and Patty. But really, I think he would have been there right away if Rory hadn't stopped him. I love Babette and Patty so much, they're so much fun to write. I don't get to include the townies much so it's nice when I get the chance.

**gilmore-gurl-13** - I'm not sure if that's the record, probably either you or Katie has the record. I've read so many where they have a baby and everything is picture perfect, and don't get me wrong, I like that too, but I thought I'd be a little different, plus there's so much that's happened with Lorelai so far in the story I felt this had to be done.

**smileyGGfan **- Welcome back. Glad that Christopher was bareable for you, that's what I was going for. Ah, the Luke/Rory awkward hugs, they're the greatest. Haha, you caught my Dr. Suess line. I agree, what a great book.

* * *

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Just about the entire town is milling around inside the house. Rory and Lane are hiding in Rory's bedroom with Liam, who is somehow sleeping peacefully in Rory's arms. The two are sitting, facing each other on Rory's old bed. "So you think this is too much? You think Mom's going to go ape the minute she walks in the door?" Rory asks Lane, a little worried. Lane shakes her head, rubbing Rory's arm.

"No, Rory, she's going to love it. I've known Lorelai forever and she pretty much loves anything you do," Lane responds. Rory nods, glancing down at Liam, smiling to herself.

"This is pretty amazing, you know?" Lane nods. "I mean, I feel like so much has changed so fast, and it's hard to catch my breath."

"Like when 'My So-Called Life' was there and then it wasn't."

"Exactly." The girls grin at each other.

"Jared Leto was so hot, whatever happened to him?" Lane asks.

"I think he quit acting to be part of a band." Lane frowns, nodding. "You should write and ask if he wants to join Hep Alien."

"Well, we're doing well right now, even without that gig at CBGBs," Lane says.

"And you're doing all right living here?" Lane nods.

"I feel ever more helpful here," Lane tells Rory, who clearly knows what Lane is saying. "Rory, you are happy with the changes though, right?" Lane asks, not altogether sure. But Rory just smiles.

"Yeah, I'm happy. You know we watched all those movies, all those TV shows with those perfect families. Even the kids on Step-By-Step got along and they weren't related. I feel like I'm finally getting that. Dad's here, Mom's here, they're getting married. I've got siblings, who are so adorable and I'm just crazy about them. Things are finally going right for this Gilmore Girl."

"You bet they are," Lane agrees, softly hitting Rory in the arm.

Hearing a car door slam, Lane rushes to the window and looks out. "Is it them?" Rory asks. Lane looks back at Rory and nods. Rory slowly stands up, doing her best not to wake Liam and looks out the window. Luke helps Lorelai out of the truck. He puts an arm around her, leading her in the house as she holds Olivia in her arms. Lane and Rory share a tense look. "This is it." They walk out of Rory's room and into the family room just as Luke opens the door, letting Lorelai enter first.

As Luke and Lorelai walk in the living room, Lorelai stops in her tracks, finally noticing that her house is filled with people. Instead of yelling surprise as one would think, the room goes silent and still. "Mom!" Rory exclaims, pushing to the front. Lane is following closely behind her. Luke glances over Lorelai's shoulder to see his fiancée's expression, but Lorelai's got a poker face on. She stares at all the people in her house, and finally lets her gaze drift to Rory. "Mom, we – everyone in Stars Hallow – we wanted to welcome Olivia home since we never got to throw you a baby shower," Rory exclaims. Lorelai presses her lips together, slowly processing the information. Rory shares a concerned look with Luke.

"Thanks," Luke says to the gathered crowd. He clears his throat. "Thanks everyone for coming over." Lorelai glances up at Luke and then out at the townies. She nods slightly.

"Yes, thank you," Lorelai adds quietly. Luke rubs her shoulder, causing Lorelai to smile slightly, relaxing her a bit.

"Is this okay?" Rory asks, a little worried. Lorelai doesn't respond as she stares at the people gathered around her, a far away look in her eyes. Babette walks to the front of the group.

"Hey Sugar," Babette says, lightly touching Lorelai's arm. "If this is too much for you, we can just go home and celebrate a different day, it's up to you, whatever you want."

"No," Lorelai responds quietly. "No, it's fine. This – this is fine – now is fine."

"Can I hold Olivia?" Rory asks. Lorelai nods. Rory hands Liam off to Lane and Lorelai slowly lets Rory gather Olivia in her arms. "She's so small."

"You were small too," Lorelai whispers, running a finger down Olivia's cheek. "You looked exactly like this, small, blue eyes, pink skin." Rory giggles.

"Mo-om, all babies look like that!"

"Not Kirk, I remember when he was born, he was a pudgy little kid!" Babette exclaims. Kirk pouts, looking down at the ground.

"I grew out of it!" Kirk insists. Lorelai looks up at Rory.

"Same features, but a different look in your eyes," Lorelai whispers. She and Rory share a look and then Lorelai quickly glances away. "I'm going to go upstairs and change." Luke reaches out and grabs her arm.

"You sure you're okay with this?" Luke asks, the concern clear in his voice. Lorelai's lips curve as if she's attempting a smile.

"Yeah, fine. I just – I need to change – get out of these clothes. I'll be right back," Lorelai promises. Luke nods. Lorelai turns and walks upstairs. Luke and Rory share a tense look.

Sookie walks over with Davey in her arms. "Davey, meet Olivia, you guys are going to grow up together and have fun and go on play dates," Sookie says to the infant in her arms.

"Sookie," Luke warns. She shoots him a questioning look. "Don't try to marry my daughter off to your son on her first day home from the hospital."

"Will tomorrow work for you?" Sookie teases.

"Sookie!" Luke shouts. Sookie and Rory laugh. "I know what little plans you and Lorelai have in mind but Olivia's not allowed to date until she's thirty and even then the boy will have to go through some very vigorous tests before the date."

"Well Rapunzel, it was nice knowing ya," Sookie says to Olivia. She winks at Rory, who giggles.

"It's a good thing Olivia has a big sister who will have to deal with your overprotectiveness much before she's old enough to date," Rory says.

"You've already begun dating," Luke notes, folding his arms over his chest.

"I didn't mean me! I meant April!" Rory responds.

"Oh," Luke remembers. "Oh!" he adds, realizing what's in store for him.

"Luke, your son is so adorable that I almost want one of my own," Lulu says, walking over to them with Liam in her arms.

"Lane!" Luke shouts. Lane, who is in deep conversation with Morey, glances over at Luke. "I thought you were keeping an eye on my son!"

"I was, Lulu offered to hold him to give my arms a rest and so I let her. She's not Andrea Yates," Lane snips. Luke sizes Lulu up and then sighs. He glances at his watch and then shares a look with Rory.

"I'm going to go check on Lorelai, make sure she's all right, can you just try to keep things calm here?" Luke asks. Rory nods. "And please, don't let anyone else hold my kids, I want them in one piece."

"I promise, Dad." Luke glances at Liam and then at Olivia and then walks up the stairs. He walks down the hall and into the bedroom he shares with Lorelai. She's sitting on the edge of the bed, not facing him, her hands folded in her laps, staring off at nothing.

"Lorelai," Luke calls softly, walking over to stand in front of her. She doesn't respond. "Lorelai," he says again, kneeling in front of her, placing a hand on her knee. She slowly looks down, not quite looking into his eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" she breathes. But Luke can see the tears in her eyes. "I just – I needed a minute."

"Anything I can do?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, I was just thinking – about things – just needed some time – to think – about things," Lorelai responds. Luke nods, not being able to think of the right thing to say. He swallows the lump that has formed in his throat.

"I just don't like seeing you upset, Lorelai," Luke tells her.

"I'm fine," Lorelai replies quickly. She flashes him a smile. "Really, I just needed a minute, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm sure. I'll be down in a minute, I'm just going to change." Luke stands, but doesn't move to leave the room. "Really Luke, I'll be down." Luke sighs, but gives in, placing a kiss on her temple and leaves the room. Lorelai closes her eyes tight, taking deep breaths, willing the throbbing pain in her forehead to go away.

Luke walks down the stares and searches out Rory in the crowd. "Is she okay?" Rory asks, deep concern in her eyes.

"She says she is, but I – I just – I don't know. Marilyn Monroe seemed okay on the outside," Luke expresses. Rory smiles softly, touching Luke's arm. Sookie now holds Olivia, having allowed Patty to take Davey.

"Those closest to her were concerned, they just didn't know what to do," Rory tells Luke.

"I don't know what to do," Luke responds, running a hand through his hair. He sighs. "She seems so lost but I just can't get through to her."

"Do you want me to try?" Rory offers. Luke nods.

"Yeah, I mean I don't want to put you in the position…"

"Me? I'm her daughter? I've been taking care of her for 19 years, I oughta be able to do something." Luke nods, not really placing any hope in this. "Go get something to eat and I'll go get Mom." Rory squeezes Luke's shoulder and walks upstairs.

Rory walks into the bedroom to find Lorelai searching through the clothes in her closet. "I can't find that sweater," Lorelai complains. Rory walks over to stand next to her.

"Which one?"

"You know the one with the purple and the black and the thing." Lorelai motions. Rory nods.

"Yeah, I borrowed that, I think it's at Yale."

"You're stretching out my clothes again!" Lorelai exclaims. She winks at Rory.

"I just didn't think you'd be back into your old clothes this soon. Most people take months to lose the pregnancy weight." Lorelai looks at Rory like she's crazy.

"How would you know?" Rory shrugs. "Exactly." Lorelai touches a finger to her chin as she stares at the clothes in her closet.

"Mom, are you okay?" Rory asks in a small voice.

"What?" Lorelai takes a top out of her closet, looking it over.

"Well, Luke was concerned." Lorelai glances past the shirt at Rory.

"Well he shouldn't be," Lorelai snaps, a displeased look on her face. "Besides, what's he doing talking to you about it? He should learn to just keep his thoughts to himself and not get everyone so riled up."

"He wasn't!" Rory insists. "He's just worried. He doesn't like seeing you upset, none of us do."

"I'm not upset, I just needed a moment to figure things out. There's a lot going on right now Rory and it's nothing you need to be worrying about. You should just be concentrating on Yale. That's all you have to do," Lorelai responds coldly. Rory frowns.

"Does this have to do with Chris's visit?" Rory asks. Lorelai stares at Rory in shock.

"No, it's got nothing to do with Chris. Did Luke say something about that?" Lorelai asks.

"No, this is my own thoughts. I just want to know what's going on with you, we always told each other everything, that was our special thing," Rory responds. Lorelai sighs, knowing what Rory's getting at. "Mom, I want you to know, Kate loves Kurt like a father. She loves her new siblings and they love her and they love Goldie just as much as Kate did when she was a baby. It's just that this time Bill isn't going to ditch because Goldie's got Kurt and he's a keeper." Lorelai watches Rory for a moment, pondering Rory's statement.

"Message sent. Now Kate needs to concentrate on her burgeoning career so that Goldie can try to resurrect hers with help from Susan Sarandon and Bette Midler." Rory grins causing Lorelai to smile back. Lorelai reaches out and rubs Rory's arm. "You're a great kid, Ror."

"Thanks, now let's pick out a great outfit so that we can go down and join the party. You don't want the twins being hugged to death by the citizens of Stars Hallow," Rory warns her mother who shakes her head vigorously. "Good." Rory picks out a sleek pink dress.

"That's the Lorelai look I was looking for!" Lorelai exclaims. She takes the dress from Rory, looking it over.

"Good. Now I'm going downstairs and you've got two minutes before I charge back up her and physically drag you back down." Lorelai salutes. "I'm timing you!" Rory calls asks she walks out.

Lorelai stares at the dress, her smile quickly disappearing. She hears a small cry from one of the twins and frowns. Scratching her head, she sighs. But she takes the dress off the hanger and begins to get ready for the party.


	66. Chapter 66

**Notes:**

**squiddrude** - I love Bette Midler too. I think in the end Rory will call Luke Dad but for now I think she's in transition.

**GMB loves Angel** - Actually the Goldie/Kate line was supposed to be a reference back to chapter 26 (yeah I knew awhile ago). But look back and read it and you'll get what I'm going for there.

**purtyinpink71121 **- To be able to understand why Lorelai is the way she is right now, I think you'd have to understand that PPD is a rough thing to get through, to get over. She's really gotta work her way through this. And she's got more stress on her now than showLorelai did, with the twins and finances and the Chris thing. This is not one of those stories where Lorelai has children and everything is just happy.

**gilmore-gurl - 13 **- Haha, will Luke beat up Chris? It's possible.

**You've Got Wings Baby** - Nope, it won't end right when Lorelai is feeling better. There's a definite end though. But I am considering the idea of a sequel, we will see.

**cywen69 **- Yeah, the whole thing with Christopher is still simmering. She still hasn't opened up about it yet.

**flcrkr **- Congrats on making my 900th review! You get the gold star this time! I never thought about the idea that Luke's a burden to her, I think she feels that she's a burden to him. Interesting take on it.

* * *

**Lorelai and Luke's House**

Lorelai rolls over in bed. Feeling the empty space beside her, Lorelai covers her face with her hand, willing herself to get moving. She can hear the sound of Liam crying from the next room. Lorelai takes a deep breath and glances over at the clock. It reads 9:30, which she knows is AM because there's sunlight streaming in the windows.

"Lane!" she calls. There's no response. Lorelai sighs, staring up at the ceiling, listening to her son cry. She licks her lips gathering herself together. Then she slowly pulls herself out of bed.

Running a hand through her hair, Lorelai saunters into the nursery. She glances over at Olivia, who seems to be sleeping peacefully and then walks over to Liam's crib. She reaches in and carefully lifts him out of the crib. "Hey Sweetie, Momma's got ya," she coos, bringing him to her chest, lightly cradling his head in her hands. She rocks from foot to foot, hoping to cease her child's tears but Liam keeps crying. "It's okay Little One, it's okay."

Holding Liam against her, Lorelai walks down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Are you hungry, Sweetie?" Lorelai asks, as if she expects Liam to actually answer her. As he keeps screaming, Lorelai looks saddened. She places Liam in a portable bassinet that is on the kitchen table. Then she walks over to the refrigerator to get a bottle, but there's none in there. "Of course," she mutters.

Lorelai takes a bottle out of the cupboard and grabs a can of formula from another cupboard. As she begins pouring the formula into the bottle, she hears Olivia start crying. "Ug!" she groans. "Can't there be one minute of… jeez!" Lorelai covers her eyes with her hand, pressing her lips together. She sets the bottle of formula down and goes back up the stairs to the nursery.

"Hey sweet baby Jane, don't want to give Momma a break for a moment do ya?" Lorelai says softly. She runs her fingers over Olivia's cheek and torso. "Let's get ya changed." Lorelai lifts Olivia up and lays her down on the changing table. She gets a diaper as Olivia's sobs lessen for a moment. In this moment of quiet, Lorelai again hears Liam's screams. "Shit!" she mutters, remembering her child still downstairs.

After quickly changing Olivia's diaper, Lorelai cradles Olivia in her arms as she walks down the stairs into the kitchen. She goes to put Olivia in a portable bassinet, but realizes the other one is not set up. "Okay then…" She walks over to Liam. "Sweets, it's just going to be one more moment." Olivia's cries increase, jumpstarting Lorelai's headache. Pulling Olivia tightly against her, Lorelai closes her eyes, trying to drown out the sounds of her screaming children. She takes a deep breath. "You can do this Lorelai," she whispers.

Lorelai opens her eyes and looks down at the crying infant in her arms. Shaking her head, Lorelai runs her fingers over the back of Olivia's head, hoping to settle her daughter. She walks back over to the formula and tries to pour it with one hand. Of course the bottle gets away from her, spilling all over the floor. "Dammit!" she shouts, causing an increase in the volume of the twins's screaming. "Shut up! Just shut up a moment!" Lorelai bites her lower lip, trying to hold it all together, taking some deep breaths, feeling terrible for yelling at her poor children.

The front door opens. "Lorelai!" Lane calls. She walks into the kitchen, taking her bag off of her shoulder. "Oh Lorelai, sorry, let me get her," Lane says. She takes off her coat, throwing it on the couch and walks over to Lorelai. "Here let me take her," Lane offers, holding her arms out to Olivia. Lorelai looks down at the screaming child, swallowing. She nods and carefully hands Olivia over to Lane.

"Hey Olivia," Lane coos. "Olivia Bolivia." She rocks Olivia in her arms, kissing the child's forehead. As Olivia's cries decrease, Lane walks away, still rocking the baby.

Lorelai remembers Liam's still screaming and turns to pour the formula. But as she looks, she remembers that she dropped the formula. She walks over to the cupboard and grabs another formula bottle. "Hold on Liam, it'll be ready soon!" Lorelai says, but he just screams in response. In response to his cries, Lorelai begins to rush around. Pouring the formula, getting a top, throwing it in the microwave, shaking it up and begins to rush over to the table as she hits a slick spot on the floor. Lorelai's legs go out from under her as she falls to the ground, hitting her elbow against a lower cupboard. "Argh!" she screeches, grabbing her elbow with her other hand.

Lane rushes back into the kitchen to find Lorelai on the floor, her pj bottoms wet from formula, hunched over and crying, holding her elbow tight against her chest. "Lorelai!" Lane calls. She kneels on one knee next to Lorelai, making sure to keep away from the formula on the ground. Lane rubs Lorelai's back. "Go back to sleep, I'll take care of this." Lorelai looks up at Lane through her teary eyes, her chin trembling. "It's okay, go."

* * *

Luke arrives home to a quiet house. He walks up the stairs and checks on Lorelai in the bedroom, but she's not there. He walks into the nursery to check on the twins, not noticing Lorelai in the rocking chair by the door. Luke looks down at Olivia and then at Liam. "They're perfect, just perfect," Lorelai slurs, scaring Luke, who thought he was alone in the nursery. 

He turns around and sees Lorelai in the rocking chair, a bottle of wine in her hand. Luke sighs, running a hand through his hair. He shakes his head at her and walks out of the nursery. Walking down the stairs, Luke walks into the kitchen a pours himself a glass of water. "Luke," he hears Lorelai call, her footsteps on the stairs. "Luke." She glances down the hall and sees him in the kitchen.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Luke asks in a loud, angry, whisper. Lorelai takes another swing of wine, sauntering into the kitchen, almost flirtatiously in her own little way. "Lorelai!"

"What? I can't enjoy myself?" Lorelai responds as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Luke's mouth drops open in shock.

"We've got kids up there, kids who need you, need you to change them and feed them and hold them while they cry. But you can't do that, not like this!" Lorelai glares at him.

"Like what?"

"Drunk, Lorelai! Drunk! Jeez, just think about someone else for a change, put your children first!"

"That's all I ever do, Luke." She walks up to stand in front of him. "Don't you know me? Don't you know that's all I ever do? The only important things in my life are Rory and Liam and Olivia. They come first," Lorelai insists. Luke shakes his head.

"Then why are you drinking?" Lorelai shrugs.

"I couldn't think, I needed to clear my head."

"And you think this is going to help?" Luke spits out.

"You don't understand Luke, you can't see it. It's all too much. I keep trying, keep trying to be a good mother, to be what they need but it's not enough. It will never be enough. They don't love me. They never stop crying for me, but for Lane they'll quiet in an instant. I can't keep it together. I can't change them and feed them or do anything right!" She begins to walk away from Luke as he reaches out to pull her back to him, hoping to just shout some sense into her. He had been quiet and comforting for so long and he was getting frustrated by the lack of change in Lorelai's mood.

"Get a grip Lorelai!" Luke shouts, gripping her shoulders.

"Get off of me Christopher!" Lorelai yells. As she lifts her hands to remove his from her shoulders, the wine bottle slips out of her hand. It crashes to the ground, shattering over the floor. Lorelai chokes back a sob, pressing her lips together. She stares at the pieces on the ground as Luke stares at her, almost wondering if she heard what she just said. Lorelai slowly lifts her eyes to his, trying to figure out what's going on through the fog in her head.

Lane walks out of Rory's room having been woken up by the fight. She surveys the room, the broken glass, the two frozen adults staring at each other. And all at once, all three hear the screaming of the twins upstairs, bringing them back to reality. Luke shakes his head and climbs the stairs to go take care of the twins. Lorelai's still frozen in place, shaking. She bends down to pick up the glass. "No!" Lane exclaims, putting a hand out to stop Lorelai. Lane kneels down and begins to pick up the big pieces. "I can do this Lorelai." Lorelai bites her lip. "Go to bed." Lorelai nods, setting the piece of glass back down.

"Thanks," she whispers as she walks out of the kitchen, but pauses before walking up the stairs. She looks back at Lane and the pieces of glass on the floor. "It shouldn't be like this, this isn't me," she whispers, shaking her head slowly. Lane stares up at Lorelai not knowing what to say. But Lorelai just turns and walks up the stairs.


	67. Chapter 67

**Notes**:

So kind of a funny story. I got home from work to look at the reviews and the review number said 911. It kind of scared me... anyways...

* * *

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Later that night, Luke walks into the bedroom. Lorelai is lying on her side of the bed, facing away from him. Luke walks over and sits on the edge of the bed on the other side, facing away from her. He takes off his shoes and his flannel. Glancing over at Lorelai, he touches her arm lightly. "Please just... let me be," Lorelai says softly. Luke sighs, slowly removing his hand.

Luke stands and slowly changes out of his clothes into his sweatpants and t-shirt so he can go to sleep. As he walks into the bathroom, he glances back at Lorelai, but she hasn't moved. Luke finishes getting ready for bed and walks back into the bedroom. Crawling onto his side of the bed, he leans over Lorelai but her eyes are shut. Luke sighs, leaning back against the headboard, reviewing the sequence of event of the past day in his own mind. He folds his arms over his chest just thinking. "Oh Lorelai," he sighs. Luke reaches out, laying a hand on her thigh, rubbing gently. When she doesn't move, he knows she's asleep.

"Lorelai, we can't keep going on like this. We have everything now. Kids. A house. Jobs. Each other. Everything should be perfect. But it's not, at least not for you. And I don't know what to do. I love you Lorelai, I do, but you're unhappy. I just wish you'd open up and talk about it instead of hiding in a web of lies and liquor. Open up and tell me what you're feeling about the twins and Christopher and your parents. Just trust yourself, trust in the fact that Rory grew up perfectly and if you're a little sad for one day, know that this time you've got back up," Luke says, wishing he could actually say this to her when she is awake. He sighs again. Then he leans over and kisses her temple. "I'm always here, I'll always be here, I love you Lorelai," he whispers. Then he lies down, wrapping an arm around her midsection and goes to sleep.

In the darkness, Lorelai opens her eyes. She opens her mouth as if to respond, but then presses her lips together and closes her eyes again.

* * *

After trying to sleep for an hour or so, Lorelai opens her eyes again. Her face is red and puffy as if she's been crying, which she has. She moves her arm out from under the blanket and runs her fingers over Luke's arm that is around her, just running her fingers over his skin. Turning herself to get out of bed, she slowly moves Luke's arm off of her. She stares down at him for a moment, just watching him sleep, seeing how amazingly peaceful he looks. Then she leans over and kisses his temple and walks over to the closet. She grabs a big bag and throws some random clothes in the bag and walks over to the dresser adding underwear to the bag. Glancing at the dresser again, she pauses and picks up a check laying there. "Thirty thousand dollars," she whispers and glances over at Luke. With a soft smile on her face, she places the check back where she found it. 

Throwing the bag over her shoulder, she walks out of the bedroom without glancing back at Luke's sleeping form. Lorelai walks down the hall into the nursery. Stopping by Liam and Olivia's cribs, she puts her fingers to her lips and then touches each of their heads. Taking a deep breath she leaves the nursery.

Walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, Lorelai picks up a pen and a piece of paper. Her hand shakes as she scribbles something on the paper. Setting down the pen, she swallows the lump in her throat. Picking up her jacket and keys, Lorelai glances once more around the house, a tear running down her cheek. Then she walks out the door, closing it softly behind her.

* * *

When the alarm goes off, Luke rolls over onto his back. He rubs his face with his hands, only then realizing that he's alone in the bedroom. Luke sighs, figuring that Lorelai's in the nursery. He slowly gets out of bed and walks into the nursery, finding it empty, except for the twins. Luke checks on Liam and then picks up Olivia, who has woken up. 

With Olivia on his hip, Luke walks down the stairs and into the kitchen. He takes a bottle out of the refrigerator and puts it in the microwave. "Morning," Lane says walking out of Rory's room. Luke glances over at her.

"How much longer are you going to be staying here?" Luke asks. Lane shrugs.

"Lorelai said I could stay as long as I want," Lane tells him.

"Oh, I know, I was just wondering. I think she shouldn't be getting too dependent on you." Lane nods, walking over to the table. She picks up the note.

"I'm not sure how… long… Luke?" Luke glances over at Lane seeing her puzzled expression.

"What's that?" Lane turns to face him, waving the letter. Luke ignores the beeping of the microwave to take the note from Lane and reads it. "Did you read this?" Luke asks. Lane nods, walking over to take the bottle out of the microwave.

"Yeah…" Lane walks over with the bottle, taking Olivia from Luke and feeding Olivia the bottle. But she doesn't watch Olivia, she stares at Luke, watching his expression. He walks down the hall, sitting down on the bottom step of the stairs, his head in his hands.

"I should have seen this coming," Luke finally says. He glances over at Lane. "Why didn't I see this coming?" Lane shrugs, not really knowing what to say. "It doesn't even say where she went, if she's coming back, just that she's left and she's okay. Which we know isn't the truth." He sighs.

"If you want to call Rory, you can use my cell phone," Lane suggests. Luke nods.

"Right. Rory. She'd know." Luke stands and picks up the house phone, dialing Rory's number from memory.

"Mom?" Rory asks groggily when she picks up the phone.

"No, Rory, it's me, sorry to wake you up," Luke says. Rory glances over at the clock next to her bed. She sits straight up, knowing that Luke would only call if it was important.

"No, it's okay, what's going on?"

"Your mom… she… she's not here…"

"She pulled a Bobby Fischer?"

"Yeah... Do you know where she might have gone?" Luke asks. Rory sighs, scratching her forehead as she thinks.

"No…" They sit there in silence thinking about it. "Do you need me to come in town to help with the twins?"

"No, Lane's here and I can call April if I need. You've got class," Luke responds.

"Okay, well I'll come by tonight after class."

"You've got class tomorrow."

"Yeah but it's only one, British History, just another king dying or chopping off someone's head or taking over another country. It's all the same," Rory contends.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to tell Elizabeth you said so." Rory laughs in spite of herself. "Are you going to go look for her?"

"Yeah I have a few ideas. Don't tell the Gilmores," Rory warns.

"I won't," Luke promises. "I could just imagine that. Do you think you could come by and pick up some of the medication Dr. Buxton prescribed? It's just gotten worse and worse and maybe she just needs a little extra boost. Dr. Boxton said something about chemicals in the brain or something... I don't know."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Rory glances at her watch and sighs. "Okay, I gotta go, I'm really sorry, but I'll see you tonight."

"Okay," Luke replies sadly.

"I love you Dad," Rory says. Luke stares at the phone in shock. He takes a deep breath.

"I love you too Rory." Rory grins.

"Later." She hangs up. Luke stares the phone again and then stands and hangs it up,

"Everything's going to be okay," Luke mumbles. Hearing Liam cry, Luke runs up the stairs, dropping the note on the table as he leaves the room.

* * *

Lorelai stands in front of the familiar door, remember the last horrible time she was there. In spite of herself, she knocks loudly. Swallowing, she takes a deep breath, willing the tears away, not wanting to cry in front of him. Lorelai puts her ear to the door and she finally hears footsteps. And suddenly the door opens. 

"Lorelai?" Christopher says with surprise.


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes**:

Wow, some people need to learn to trust me a little. Haha. I should admit that actually this was written long before Partings, these chapters were written back in March, so it was interesting that the last bit of the last scene was so similar, especially since I didn't know the spoilers. Actually when I saw Partings, I was a little surprised at how similar the two scenes were, I must have been channeling ASP or something (wow, scary thought). But remember the circumstances are very very different, Lorelai's not in the same situation in this fic as she was on the show.

**Babs25 **- I"m so glad you commented on the "I love you Dad" and response. Slowly but surely Rory's warming up to the idea of Luke as her dad.

**Robinpoppins **- Yes, rely on your trust. Always. You and me both, and Lorelai, we all give Chris too many chances. I liked him as a person too, right up until that last scene. You're totally reading my mind in that whole review. Glad I provided a good outlet for your rant, let me tell you I feel exactly the same way.

* * *

**Christopher's Condo**

"Lorelai?" Christopher says with surprise as he opens the door to his condo. Lorelai takes a deep breath, gazing at Christopher. She licks her lips, still frozen in place. "Lorelai?" Christopher repeats, with concern and uncertainty. He never expected her to show up at his place again.

"Hi," Lorelai says finally. Chris furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"Hi," Chris responds, still waiting for her to make the first move.

"Can I come in?" Lorelai asks.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Chris responds, stepping aside. Lorelai nods to him and walks past him into the condo. She pulls her coat tighter around her even though she's just stepped into a warm house. She glances around, somehow unfamiliar with her surroundings. Christopher closes the door, not taking his eyes off of Lorelai. "Can I take your coat?" Chris asks, giving Lorelai a chance to tell him why she's there. Lorelai glances back at him, a faint smile plays on her lips.

"No," Lorelai says softly. "No, that's okay. I'm okay. This is fine." Chris nods, still unsure.

"Do you want…?" Chris at the same time Lorelai tries to ask. "Can I just…?" They quiet staring at each other for a moment, each remembering how familiar it is just to be in the other's presence, but yet at the same time both are quite on edge. Chris motions for Lorelai to talk.

"Can I just…?" Lorelai motions to the couch in the living room.

"Oh yeah…" Chris responds. He lightly touches her shoulder, motioning for her to lead into the living room. Lorelai sighs, settling herself on the couch but Chris doesn't sit down. "Lorelai are you okay?" Chris finally brings himself to ask. Lorelai looks up at him with alarm.

"Why do you ask?" Lorelai asks cautiously. Chris sighs, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I may joke about it, but I never actually expected you to come back here. After…" Chris shrugs. Lorelai nods, looking away, running her tongue over her upper lip. "Lor…" Chris sits down next to her, cocking his head to let her know he's waiting for her to open up to him. Lorelai finally returns her gaze to Chris, pressing her lips together.

"I left," she states simply.

"You left," Chris repeats, not exactly understanding her meaning.

"Luke. The twins. I left. I left it all." Chris raises his eyebrows in surprise.

"Really?" Chris leans back, processing this.

"I just couldn't – it was all… You remember how it was after Rory was born?" Lorelai asks.

"You mean…?" Lorelai nods. "Yeah, course I remember." Lorelai bites her lower lip. "But you were so happy at the hospital the other week."

"If you believed that, Meryl Streep oughta be handing over one of her Oscars." Christopher chuckles. Lorelai folds her arms over her chest. "I lied to you. I never realized it." She gives Chris a pointed look.

"You mean you never told Luke that you love him." Lorelai nods. "But you do," Chris maintains.

"I don't get it, how do you know that and I don't know that?"

"You do know it, you do," Chris insists. Lorelai shakes her head, glancing away. "Deep down, Lor." He touches her arm lightly but even that makes Lorelai tense, so he removes his hand quickly. "You know." Lorelai unfolds her arms, laying her hands in her lap. She stares down at them. Chris watches her, letting her consider his words.

"I'm not sure why I came. I was on my way to New Hampshire and I saw the sign for your exit. My car just kinda made its way over here," Lorelai explains distantly.

"Smart car," Chris notes. Lorelai shoots him a look, trying not to smile at his joke. "What was in New Hampshire?" Lorelai shrugs.

"I just needed to get away. Away from everything. I couldn't take care of the twins. I was fighting with Luke. I couldn't get a hold of Rory. I couldn't make the payments on the inn. And everything was just falling apart." Lorelai scratches her forehead. "And I thought that this is what I've been working towards my whole life. The whole package. Luke. The kids. The inn. But I'm not happy, this isn't working out." Chris rubs her arm. "I mean I want it, I do, but I just can't make it work."

"Yes you can. You've just got to have faith in yourself." Lorelai absently plays with the ring on her finger. "You used to. The old Lorelai was full of self confidence," Chris reminds her.

"Are you sure about that?" Lorelai asks. "Are you sure it wasn't all an act? Joan Kennedy seemed to have it all together and now look at her. She had everything. The perfect family. The perfect husband. The perfect kids. The Kennedy name. But really, it wasn't perfect at all."

"Well the moment I find out you're drinking into oblivion…" Chris teases.

"It's not a joke Christopher!" Chris puts his hands in the air.

"You're right," Chris gives in.

"I just can't handle everything. And everyone wants something from me. And I'm only one person. I just…" Lorelai trails off, covering her face with her hands. Chris sits still, not knowing what he should do. And all Lorelai can do is wish that Chris was Luke because she knows that he would have his arms around her and would be holding her. He would know what to do.

Just as she's about to get up and leave, Chris stands and says, "Can I get you some coffee?" Lorelai looks up at him in wonder. "Lorelai?"

"Yeah… coffee…" she agrees distantly. Chris nods.

"Okay, well I'll be right back." Chris stares at Lorelai for a moment, making sure it's okay to leave her. When she doesn't respond, he turns and walks into the kitchen. As he closes the door behind him, Chris glances at Lorelai, who is flipping through his CD collection. He takes a deep breath, gets the coffee going and then picks up the phone and dials.

"What do you want?" Rory answers snottily. Chris frowns, but surprised that she bothered to pick up.

"I just wanted to let you know that your mom's here." Rory turns off her car and leans back in her seat, relieved.

"Oh God, I'm glad you called."

"So you didn't know where she was?" Chris asks.

"No, I didn't. I was worried. We all were. Is she okay?"

"Yeah. I mean she's not hurt." Chris winces, wishing he had picked a better choice of words. "But she's shaken. She's not herself."

"Yeah, she hasn't been in awhile," Rory admits.

"I thought something was up when she-" Chris stops talking having heard Lorelai calling to him. Chris walks over to the door and opens it a crack, forgetting the phone against his ear.

"I just noticed you have the new Sparks CD," Lorelai comments and then glances over at him. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you were on the phone. I didn't hear it ring."

"It only rings in the kitchen and you can't hear it with the door closed," Chris lies. Lorelai narrows her eyes, trying to figure out if he's telling the truth. "It'll just be a second." Chris moves to close the door again.

"Linda from marketing?" Chris stops and glances over his shoulder at her.

"Excuse me?" Lorelai grins.

"You don't want me to hear because it's Linda from marketing?" Lorelai teases. Chris chuckles.

"No, it's not Linda from marketing. It's my new girlfriend Trixie and she suggests that I get back on the phone before she dumps me." Lorelai nods, going back to the CD. Chris closes the door walking back over to the coffee pot that's almost done. "Sorry, Ror, I'm here."

"Who's Linda from marketing?" Chris groans.

"Not you too!" Rory giggles and then sobers, remembering who she's talking to. "Anyways, I just wanted to let you know she's here, she's all right and she's planning on heading to New Hampshire. Do you know where she's going?" Rory frowns, thinking about that for a moment.

"I have an idea," she replies vaguely. "I'm glad you called," Rory admits. Chris smiles to himself.

"Rory, give her a break, this happened last time too," Chris warns. Rory stares at the phone.

"When last time? You mean when I was born?"

"Yeah…"

"I didn't know that." Rory seems a little surprised she never heard about this.

"Well in those days it wasn't something you talked about, and for Lorelai Gilmore, it really wasn't something you talked about."

"How did you get her to come back?" Rory asks.

"I – uh – I didn't have to, it didn't get that bad last time. Mostly because she knew if she left you, she'd never see you again. It was a completely different situation last time, she didn't have someone she could depend on. All she has was me… and clearly that wasn't enough." Rory sighs, wishing she had known. "Ask her about it when you see her, she'll tell you the truth."

"Yeah… I'm glad you at least warned me," Rory tells Chris.

"No problem, I'm as worried as you are."

"Then you should just see Luke, he's out of his mind," Rory responds and then bites her lower lip, wishing she could take that back. She sighs. "Anyways, I'll keep you updated," she quickly adds and hangs up. Chris nods, hanging up the phone.

"Coffee's ready!" Chris shouts to Lorelai as he pours the coffee into a mug and then brings it out to her. "I told Trixie you said hi." Lorelai smiles faintly and takes the mug from him, drinking quietly. Chris watches her. "Oh! I should get you the gift!" Chris realizes and walks up the stairs.

Lorelai picks up a few CDs and glances at them. "Here," Chris says, running down the stairs. He hands her a small package in baby wrap with a bow on top. Lorelai gives him a curious look as she accepts the gift. "Actually, open it when you get home to Liam and Olivia." Lorelai nods.

"Okay…" Lorelai walks back over to where her purse sits on the couch. "Thanks Chris." The door to the condo opens and closes.

"Chris, hun, I…" Lorelai looks up into the front hall to see a woman standing there. The woman stares at Lorelai. "Oh I didn't realize…" Chris chuckles nervously.

"Hey Rosanna, this is Lorelai, she's my…" Chris trails off glancing at Lorelai, unsure what to say to explain.

"I'm Rory's mother," Lorelai finishes, watching to see if Rosanna recognizes Rory's name.

"Oh Rory, your daughter. Well, it's nice to meet you Lorelai," Rosanna says a little brighter, glad to find that Chris isn't home having an affair.

"Rosanna's my girlfriend," Chris explains to Lorelai, actually relieved that she didn't reveal their previous engagement. Lorelai nods.

"Well I should be going…" Lorelai says, giving Chris a faint smile. "Thanks for the…" She waves the gift. Chris nods.

"No problem, I'm sure they'll love it." Lorelai swallows, a tense look coming over her face again. She bites her lower lip nervously. "Give yourself a chance, it'll happen." Lorelai nods. She picks up her purse and walks out.

As she closes the door behind her, Lorelai leans back against the door, closing her eyes tightly. She takes a deep breath glancing up at the sky. Shaking her head, she quickly wipes tears from her eyes and walks to her car.


	69. Chapter 69

**Notes:**

**GMB loves Angel** - Haha, I made you like Chris. That is quite a feat.

**Caffeination **- Wow, let me see how best to respond to it. First of all, I have no problem with ranting in your review, as I've told others. If that makes you feel better then feel free, as long as you're not ranting about how bad my writing is, which of course you weren't. I'm sorry to read that you lost faith in Lorelai in Partings, I was sad that she became podLorelai in the second half, but I do have faith that realLorelai will make a comeback. I may not agree with what Lorelai did in Partings, but I do understand what was going through her mind. You're not the only one who started reading fanfics just after Partings aired, I've read many reviews where readers said that they did that. I'm sorry that you think Chris only acted that way because he's got a girlfriend, that wasn't the reason that I had Rosanna show up. I personally think that Chris acted this way because he remembers what happened the last time she showed up at his house and he's still trying to make amends for that. I hope that I can do more to restore your faith in Lorelai, as I am a huge Lorelai fan.

**Petite Quiet Harrison** - That is quite a compliment that you can't hate the Lorelai/Chris moments. Really it is.

**TheCoffeeBean** - Hmmm... I'm not sure how to respond, but Lorelai is in no way falling for Chris. There was that part in the middle of the chapter when she wished that Chris was Luke, because she knew he'd be there for her. She wasn't crying because he has a girlfriend, she's still just upset because her life seems to be falling apart and seeing Chris didn't help. Plus she just left the place where Chris had attacked her just a year before, that's a lot of pent up emotion. Again, you just have to trust me.

* * *

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Luke has gotten Liam into a Baby Einstein chair and Liam's keeping himself occupied while Luke feeds Olivia. Just as Olivia finishes, the doorbell rings. Luke is thankful that he's set the kids up in the living room so he doesn't have to go far to answer the door. Anna and April are standing in the doorway. Anna's holding a foil tray. "Heya Luke, our kid told me that you're attempting single fatherhood," Anna says.

"Just for a time," Luke adds, making sure that both Anna and April know that Lorelai's coming back, even though he's not completely sure she is.

"Right, but even then I thought you might need a hand," Anna says. Luke eyes her for a moment, trying to decide what to do when Olivia begins to whimper in his arms. Luke sighs.

"Come on in," Luke finally replies, motioning with his head for them to walk inside. Anna lets April enter the house, making sure to close the door tightly behind her. Luke walks over and grabs a burp blanket off of the edge of the couch and sets it on his shoulders. He tries to adjust Olivia onto his shoulder without setting her down first and is clearly having trouble before Anna hands April the tray and takes Olivia from Luke, resituating the infant on her father's shoulder. "Thanks."

"Guess it's a good thing I stopped by," Anna teases. Luke nods, a little unsure about the situation. "I brought lasagna," Anna adds as a bribe.

"Lasagna?"

"Vegetable lasagna." Luke grins. "There are a few things about you that stuck." Luke nods. "I just thought with Lorelai gone, you might need help with cooking."

"Ummm… just a hint to you, Anna, I'm not sure who you think Lorelai is but she's not Emeril. In fact, I'd be surprised if she knew how to turn on an oven," Luke responds.

"You cook for her?"

"She ate at the diner almost everyday. Or ordered pizza. Or Chinese. Or ice cream…" Luke shakes his head.

"Does she clean?" Luke shrugs.

"Not really…" Anna stares at him, a look of incredulity on her face.

"So you're telling me that Lorelai doesn't cook, she doesn't even eat health food, and she doesn't clean?" Luke nods. "I never thought I would be able to say this but Paula Abdul was right, opposites do attract." Luke chuckles. As he glances away, the photos on the mantle catch his eye, his smile slowly disappearing. Anna peeks a look at April, who is staring at Luke, a concerned look on her face.

"April, honey, why don't you go heat up the lasagna while your dad and I get these babies changed?" Anna suggests. She bends down and lifts Liam out of the chair.

"Okay," April agrees, taking the tray with her into the kitchen.

"Luke," Anna says softly, trying to pull his attention away from the photo he picked up of him and Lorelai. Rory had taken it at Christmastime with the new digital camera Lorelai had gotten her. Luke sits in the corner of the couch with Lorelai cuddled in his arms, both smiling and enjoying their new engagement. Anna jostles Liam in her arms. Luke glances over at her.

"Yeah…" He motions for her to follow him. They walk up the stairs into the nursery.

"Nice place you got here," Anna comments.

"Lorelai had a lot of time after the twins were born, when I was trying to keep her from doing too much. So she decorated, she's a decorator. She likes that kinda thing," Luke explains, staring at the ducks on the one wall. "But she only wanted ducks on one wall, she said it would draw the attention away from the rest of the room when it became a mess," Luke remembers. Anna stands in the doorway, holding Liam to her, letting Luke be with his memories for a moment. Luke looks down at the ground, sighing. "Let's get the twins put down."

"Do they need to be changed first?" Anna asks. Luke shakes his head.

"No I changed them after Lane fed them." Luke takes Olivia over her to crib. He kisses her forehead and lays her down. Luke reaches a hand in, running a finger over his daughter's small fist. "Sweet dreams Baby Girl." He smiles faintly and then walks over to where Anna stands by Liam's crib. "Here," Luke grunts, holding out his arms for his son. He kisses Liam's forehead as well and then lays Liam down in the crib. He gently squeezes Liam's tiny foot. "Stay strong Kiddo." He winks at Liam and then turns the baby monitor on.

Luke grabs the other monitor and motions for Anna to follow him out. Pausing at the bedroom, Luke continues into the sewing room. "Luke, are you all right?" Anna asks.

"Yeah, I just – it would be weird – you know – odd – for you to be – that was Lorelai's room – you know – originally," Luke attempts to explain.

"All right," Anna agrees, laying a comforting hand on Luke's arm. "But you can't keep going like this. How long has she been gone?" Luke sighs, trying to figure it out. "It's Sunday, what day did she leave?"

"Early Friday morning," Luke whispers. Anna nods, concern showing on her face. Luke rubs his mouth. "Rory called a little bit ago, she said that she thinks she's found Lorelai."

"For sure?" Luke shrugs. "How does Rory know that?"

"I don't know. Lorelai wouldn't just leave…"

"But she did Luke," Anna reminds him.

"That's not what I mean," Luke responds quickly, glaring at Anna. "She'll come back eventually. She's upset. She needs some time to herself. But she'll come back." Anna folds her arms over her chest, wondering who Luke is trying to convince. "You don't know her," Luke repeats.

"What I don't understand is why you're not angry with her for leaving. You've got two babies to raise and she's off finding herself. Sure, clinical depression, I get that, you went through that too after your dad died."

"Judy Garland went through it too. At least Lorelai's handling it a little better," Luke responds. Anna stares at him. "But I can't get mad at Lorelai for taking a time out to make herself better, it would be like getting mad at my mom for stopping the chemo so that the symptoms would go away."

"Did you?" Luke sets the baby monitor on the table and shoves his hands in his pockets. He stares at the ground.

"Yeah," he admits. He turns and walks over to the window staring out. "But I hid it, I couldn't get mad at her, she was dying."

"And…?" Luke sighs.

"And I loved her," Luke adds quietly. He rubs his forehead. Anna walks over to Luke touching his sleeve. Luke has his lips pressed together, a fist tapping against his mouth as he tries to hold his emotions in. A solitary tear drifts down his cheek.

"I know you loved your mom, I know she appreciated that you understood."

"She did," Luke whispers. "She knew that I was angry with her decision and she told me I didn't have to keep it from her because she – she loved me to too much to watch me hurt, but I had to. She needed me to understand. She needed me to forgive. She needed me to just love her and let her make her decisions." Anna rubs his arm as Luke squeezes his eyes shut. He draws in a shaky breath. "She needs me to let her take her time. She needs me to love her. Then she'll come back." Anna pulls Luke's arm, slowly turning him so that he faces her. Luke stares down at Anna. "She'll come back."

"You sure?" Anna asks. Luke takes a deep breath and then runs both of his hands through his hair. "Why are you so sure?" Anna wonders, even though Luke never answered her last question.

"Because she…she…" Luke looks away, not sure or not wanting to admit his false hopes. "I love her," he finally says.

"Do you? Or are you just holding on because you have kids together?" Luke gives Anna a sharp look. "I can't believe you're settling down, you, Luke Danes, Butch Danes, the serial monogamist, the eternal playboy."

"I…" Anna cuts him off, cupping his face with her hands and pressing her lips hard against his. "Anna!" Luke yells, pulling back and stepping away from Anna. He wipes his mouth with disgust. But Anna doesn't seem upset, in fact there's a sense of awe in her eyes.

"Why Luke Danes, someone's finally gotten to you. I can't believe it, but it's true," Anna says, amazed. Luke gives her a look of repulsion.

"What was that for?"

"I just wanted to see if you were sure, and oh my God, you love her, despite everything," Anna realizes.

"I've loved her since the moment I laid eyes on her 8 years ago," Luke admits.

"Do you know if she loves you?" Luke draws in a breath but doesn't respond. "I see."

"She'll be back, I'm sure of that. And until then, I've just gotta keep things going. I need to take care of the diner, make sure things are going okay with the Dragonfly and take care of these kids. Until the moment she comes back, those are the only things I can concentrate on."

"We'll help," April announces, showing up in the doorway. Anna glances around at April in surprise, having almost forgotten April is there.

"Thanks, but I…" Luke responds quickly, glancing at Anna.

"Well, I'll help," April promises, not really understanding what's going on between her mom and dad. Luke grins. He walks over to April, gathering her in his arms.

"I'm so glad I almost knocked your mom over that day in the market. You're the most amazing kid," Luke tells April, who looks up at him and grins. "Did I ever tell you I love you?" April shakes her head. "Well I do, and I want you to know that. No matter what." April nods.

"I love ya too Pops," April answer. Luke groans. He kisses the top of her head.

"Okay, let's go try to swallow that lasagna your mom attempted to make." April nods and Anna follows her out of the room. Luke walks out, pausing in the doorway of the bedroom he shares with Lorelai, heaving a sigh. "Lorelai, wherever you are, please come home," he whispered.


	70. Chapter 70

**Notes:**

Sorry this is a little late, but I spent some time away after finishing IWNU. I needed a little time off. But I'm back and on with the show...erg... fic...

**LorLukealways - **Haha, when you wrote "where in the world is Lorelai Gilmore" you totally had me singing the Carmen Sandiego song. I'm guessing you intended that. Hilarious.

**javajunkie101 - **Was it the point of the show to make us hate Anna? I mean, I know I personally am not a huge fan of the woman, but wasn't sure about everyone else.

* * *

**The Cheshire Cat**

Rory pulls up into a parking space facing the bed and breakfast. She turns off the car and sighs, the memory of the last time she and Lorelai stayed there still fresh in her mind. She grabs the bags sitting next to her and gets out of the car. Glancing around as she walks up to the inn, Rory considers what to do if she's wrong. But she knows her mother too well, she knows she's not wrong so she walks inside and up to the desk.

"Hi LaDonn," Rory says brightly to the blond woman behind the desk. LaDonn looks up at her with surprise.

"Oh I remember you. The little girl who hid up in her room with her mom. Are you still with that boyfriend?" LaDonn asks. Rory blushes, looking away.

"No… things didn't work out," Rory admits.

"Oh well, I have a nephew about your age. He's having his sixteenth birthday party next week," LaDann says sweetly. Rory looks nauseated.

"You think I'm sixteen?" Rory wrinkles her nose and then shakes it off. "Is my mom here?"

"Oh, yes, she's upstairs." Rory breathes a sigh of relief. "Here, let me show you where." LaDonn motions for Rory to follow her. As they walk up the stairs, Rory notices the cat on the third step.

"I see Sammy's still alive and well," Rory comments. LaDonn stops in her tracks and gives Rory a cold look.

"Sammy died last May," LaDonn tells Rory, who blushes, looking down.

"Oh, sorry," Rory apologizes, embarrassed at having brought it up. She glances down at the cat that shares a surprising resemblance to Sammy. "And who is this?"

"Morris." Rory raises her eyebrows still staring at the cat. "Morris the cat," Rory repeats. "Okay." She glances back up at LaDonn, who is still staring at her. "Good… name," Rory manages. LaDonn nods and walks up the rest of the stares. Rory glances back down at Moris. "Some help you are," she grumbles at Morris and then follows LaDonn up the stairs. They stand outside the door of the room that Rory and Lorelai stayed in last time.

"I thought you two liked the room so much last time that I gave your mother the same one," LaDonn says.

"Oh we did, we really did," Rory lies. LaDonn smiles.

"I knew it. After reading your comments in the book. They really spoke to me. I even had it stitched into a pillow." Rory raises an eyebrow, not exactly remembering what they wrote, but knowing it was something ridiculous. "You sure have a way with words."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Rory stammers. LaDonn smiles, touching Rory's elbow.

"Well I'll leave you to it, try to come down later, we have some fabulous events going on that I'm sure you two would just love."

"Oh we'll try," Rory says sarcastically, although LaDonn doesn't hear the sarcasm. LaDonn smiles and walks back down the stairs. "Of all the places to go," Rory mutters under her breath. She sighs, going over in her mind what she wants to say to Lorelai and then knocks on the door.

"I'm fine," Rory hears Lorelai call from inside the room. Rory rolls her eyes. She opens the door to find Lorelai lying on her back on the bed, her legs bent with her feet on the mattress and an arm thrown over her face. "I said I'm fine," Lorelai says, not looking to see that it's Rory who just walked in.

"And you would be a big fat liar," Rory states, closing the door behind her. Lorelai moves her arm from over her face and looks up at Rory. Reaching back and pressing her hand into the mattress, Lorelai sits up slightly. "Are we done with the hide and seek now?"

"Rory…" Lorelai says softly. Rory raises an eyebrow.

"Did you think I wouldn't find you?" Lorelai rolls her eyes, looking away.

"You should be in school."

"And you should be in Stars Hallow." Lorelai glares at Rory, who walks over to the side of the bed, kneeling on knee on the edge. "Mom, what happened? Why the Brooke Shields act?"

"It's not an act Rory," Lorelai replies simply. Rory finally sits down on the bed, curling her legs next to her.

"I know," Rory says. They gaze at each other a moment. "I brought you the prescription medication Luke had filled." Lorelai sighs, knowing that it has probably reached that point and nods.

"Thanks," she whispers. Rory hands Lorelai the bag. Lorelai opens it and pulls out two pill bottles and reads the directions. "I guess I should stop denying it then, huh?" Lorelai glances over at Rory with one eye.

"You should stop denying everything." Lorelai pushes herself up to a full seated cross-legged position, folding her arms over her chest.

"Chris called while you were there." Lorelai's mouth forms an 'O' but she doesn't reply. "He said this happened before, when I was born. He said you've just been denying it all this time." Lorelai looks down at her lap. Rory reaches out and lays a hand on Lorelai's shoulder.

"Mom, tell the truth."

"Okay, John O'Hurley, will the real Lorelai Gilmore please stand up," Lorelai jokes. She glances over at Rory, who's clearly not laughing. "Sorry," Lorelai whispers. She turns to face Rory, her legs still cross legged. Rory turns to face Lorelai fixing herself into the same position. Lorelai takes Rory's hands in hers.

"Mom, please." Lorelai nods.

"I never wanted you to find out. I didn't want you to think that I didn't love you."

"Mom, I-" Lorelai shakes her head, telling Rory to let her finish.

"I loved you from the moment they placed you in my arms, I really did. But I was messed up. I was 16. I hated my life. I hated my parents. I couldn't provide for you. And I had no one to depend on, not even your dad."

"He's not my dad," Rory insists. Lorelai nods, letting Rory's comment go by the wayside.

"For about two months after you were born, I spent entire days in bed crying and depressed. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to eat. I didn't want to leave the house. The doctors said it was just hormones, that it would go away, but I just felt myself falling into a deep hole. I was afraid to hold you, to take care of you. I had no experience with kids. I thought I would break you. I thought you would hate me. I was just really confused."

"You were sixteen," Rory reminds her mom. "You're not Wonder Woman."

"No, but I like to imagine I am."

"Well you look like her," Rory notes. Lorelai nods, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"That I do," Lorelai agrees.

"So what happened?" Lorelai frowns, giving Rory's hands a quick squeeze.

"I walked into the nursery one afternoon and my mom was in there. Holding you. And then everything changed." Rory cocks her head, allowing Lorelai a chance to explain. "You were what motivated me to get better. I could see you, fifteen years in future, at your little deb party, prancing around in your jewels, hiding at the top of the staircase in tears. You would have hated that, at least, if you were going to be anything like me. You had to be saved from that. And I was your mother, I was the only thing to protect you from becoming Bunny Kensington, the newest member of the DAR." Rory giggles. Lorelai lets go of one of Rory's hands and cups Rory's cheek. "I loved you, Rory. You're the reason I'm who I am and where I am today." Rory smiles softly. She reaches up and takes Lorelai's hand off of her cheek.

"Thanks Mom, thanks for saving me," Rory says. Lorelai lets go of Rory, grasping her daughter's shoulders and pulling Rory to her. Rory wraps her arms around Lorelai. "You were always Wonder Woman to me."

"Well I hope Lynda Carter appreciates that," Lorelai jokes. Rory laughs. They let go of each other.

"Mom, you can get through it this time too. Take the medication. Let me help. Let Luke help." Rory gives Lorelai a pointed look.

"How is he?" Lorelai asks, an uneasy look on her face.

"He's worried about you," Rory responds. Lorelai nods knowingly. "He's really a trooper. He's taking care of everything: the twins, the Dragonfly, the diner." Lorelai huffs.

"And I thought he was Everyman." Lorelai winks.

"He really misses you," Rory tells Lorelai, who looks away. Lorelai pats Rory's arm and gets up off the bed. She picks up a pillow and waves it at Rory.

"Sat and forever am at work here," Lorelai reads off the pillow. She hands it to Rory, shaking her head, and walks over to the window. Rory smiles down at the pillow.

"It's better than satanic forces are at work here," Rory comments.

"Depends on who you're asking," Lorelai contends, glancing over her shoulder at Rory, who purses her lips, trying not to laugh. Lorelai smiles and looks back out the window. Rory places the pillow back where Lorelai picked it up from and looks over at her mother.

"Are you going to marry him?" Rory asks. Lorelai sighs, her arms crossed over her stomach.

"I don't – I don't know, Rory," Lorelai responds distantly. Rory rolls her eyes.

"You can't keep doing this! You're like Maggie Carpenter without the actual weddings!" Rory exclaims. She climbs off the bed and walks over to Lorelai, grabbing her mother's arm and turning Lorelai to face her. Lorelai slowly turns her face to look down at Rory. "He loves you. He's good to you. You can't do this to him."

"Rory…" Lorelai sighs.

"I don't want to think I raised a mother who can't say I love you," Rory insists, grasping Lorelai's arms. Lorelai presses her lips together.

"I know," Lorelai whispers. She shakes her head. "I don't know why it's so hard for me."

"Do you? Do you love him?" Lorelai takes a deep breath.

"I – I'm – I…" Lorelai bites her lower lip. "I think I might." A soft smile creeps over Rory's lips.

"Well take your time, think it over," Rory tells her mother. Lorelai nods. "All right, my work here is done. It's Monday. I've missed two classes because of you and I should get back to school. I brought you tacos from Hector's." Loreali grins. "Eat them. Take the medication. And come home when you're ready, hopefully sooner rather than later."

"You're such a good daughter, I don't deserve you."

"Well then be a good little girl and do what I told you and maybe, just maybe, I'll bring you some more tacos tomorrow," Rory promises.


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes**:

**Robinpoppins **- That's what I like to hear/read. I like to keep things fresh and interesting, otherwise I'd even get bored writing it.

**javajunkie101 **- Well then your friends are my kind of people. Need I say again my dislike for Anna?

**lukedanesloverr **- You know, an iced hazelnut coffee and blueberry muffin are always the perfect reading snack. Tasty. But you're right, I feel I wrote the characters better and better from chapter to chapter. Luke was hard to write at first, but I think I've worked out my problems with that. Let me say this about Chris, I liked Chris, I liked him for a long time, up until that last scene in Partings I liked Chris. But the thing is, that this was not out of Chris's character, being drunk and not really knowing what he's doing and just furious that Lorelai, his goddess, had fallen and cheated on him. I think I've tried to make Chris human, mistakes and all, and when you make really bad mistakes, you end up having to crawl out of a hole for a long time. And to me, Lorelai is what comes first in Rory's life, to find out that Chris did that would make Rory want to hate him. I know that Chris is Rory's father and she'll be dealing with that too, the whole Luke/Chris thing, but Rory has her reasons right now for preferring Luke. I love the Thanksgiving chapter too. If I haven't said it already, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I will always put my all into those chapters. The LCL conflict will come back and will be around, yes it got pushed aside but not forever. No review could ever be too long. I loved your review and yes I loved comparing Lorelai and Rory to Goldie and Kate.

**smileyGGfan **- Welcome back. That was probably the longest run on sentence ever.

And a giant huge big THANK YOU to **lukelover87 **who submitted my 1000th review! You are the best! I thank you all who have reviewed throughout as well. Know that I appreciate each and every review. Gold stars are on the house today.

* * *

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Luke is upstairs in the nursery playing with the twins. Olivia is in the Little Einstein chair and Liam is lying in the portable bassinet, playing with a stuffed truck. Luke hears some noise outside and walks to the window, from where he sees Lorelai's jeep pull up.

Lorelai turns off the jeep and grins, a delighted look on her face, as she's happy to be home. She gets out of the jeep and reaches back in to grab her bag and her purse, setting one on each shoulder. Lorelai doesn't hear Luke open the front door. He steps onto the porch, watching her. As Lorelai turns around, she finally notices Luke and the smile spreads across her face. Luke walks down the steps as Lorelai picks the bags off of her shoulders, throwing them on the ground as she runs to Luke. He catches her under her shoulders, pulling her to him, as she places a hand on either side of his face, pressing her lips to his passionately. Lorelai's hands move to the back of his head, pressing his mouth to hers harder. She parts her lips slightly, opening her mouth to him, his tongue gently massaging hers as his hands move to her lower back, pressing her hips against him, holding her as close as he can get her, neither wanting to let go.

Finally Lorelai pulls back, each flushed and gasping for breath. She kisses him again, sweetly this time, and lays her head on his shoulder, one of her hands playing with the curls on the back of his neck and other laid across the back of his shoulders. Luke kisses Lorelai's cheek, nestling his head in her hair, breathing in her sweet scent. One of hands is still pressing into her lower back while the other rests across the back of her shoulders. "I missed you," he whispers.

"Ditto," Lorelai whispers back, holding him tightly to her. "I'm so sorry." Luke suddenly lets go of her, grasping her face in his hands.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Luke declares. Lorelai smiles softly, moving her hands to his shoulders.

"When I said I would never leave you…"

"And you never will," Luke answers quickly. Lorelai grins.

"Are we going to continue quoting Casablanca?" Lorelai teases. Luke chuckles. "But seriously, I promise you this time, this is it, I'm here."

"And I'll always be here," Luke promises. He pulls her face to his and kisses her again. "Now let's get to those bags." Lorelai nods. They walk over and Luke picks up the big bag and Lorelai grabs her purse. She reaches for his hand and he takes hers, interlacing their fingers. They walk up the stairs of the porch. Just before Lorelai opens the door, Luke pulls on her hand, turning her to face him. Placing a hand on her cheek, he tucks some of her hair behind her ear. As he runs his fingers over her cheek, Lorelai stares up at him, pressing her lips together. She reaches up and grabs the collar of his shirt, bringing his lips to hers again. When Lorelai slowly releases her hold on him, Luke nods.

"We'd better go inside before we give Babette a real show," Lorelai says. Luke nods. Lorelai turns and opens the door, pulling Luke behind her. Luke goes to take the bag upstairs. "Wait, first…" Lorelai motions for her to follow him. They put the bags by the stairs. Lorelai takes Luke's hands in hers, walking backwards to the couch, where they sit down facing each other.

"Are you okay?" Luke asks with concern. Lorelai grits her teeth and shrugs.

"Some days are better than others. But I've been taking the medication and it's helping. I just... I gotta take it one day at a time," Lorelai tells him.

"Well I'll be behind you every step of the way," Luke replies.

"I know. You're Huggies." Lorelai moves to tuck one leg under her. "I need to tell you something."

"Why am I suddenly nervous?" Lorelai smiles.

"No, it's just something you should know."

"Okay…" Luke gives her a curious look.

"This is not the first time that this has happened," Lorelai says. Luke raises an eyebrow. "The – post partum depression." Lorelai presses her lips together, having finally said the words for the first time. "When I had Rory, I went through the same thing."

"You were depressed?" Lorelai nods. "What made you go back that time?"

"I never left," Lorelai responds. "It was the same disease, but not the same reasons behind it."

"And you never told anyone?" Lorelai shrugs.

"At the time, I thought they would take Rory away from me if I admitted it. After that, I thought Rory would hate me if she knew. And then, after awhile, there wasn't any reason to."

"Until the twins were born," Luke reminds her.

"Right, but since I had been denying it so long, I didn't stop to consider it might happen again," Lorelai explains.

"I see."

"I just thought you should know. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't Liam or Olivia's fault. It's just something I have to deal with and stop denying. And now I can start to recover." Luke nods. Lorelai smiles softly, squeezing his hands. "And we can go on." Luke nods. Lorelai waits for a response from Luke. "You still want to marry me, don't you?" A small smile plays on Luke's lips.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Good." Lorelai leans and kisses him quickly on the mouth. Then she climbs off the couch. "Come on, I want to see the kids." She pulls him by the hands, forcing him back onto his feet. Lorelai pulls Luke behind her as they walk up the stairs, Luke wraps their hands around her waist. "Hey, it's hard to walk with you doing that."

"Hey, it's hard to keep my hands off of you with your butt in my face like that," Luke responds. Lorelai glances at him over her shoulder and shakes her head with a smirk. Instead she moves his hands off of her waist, still holding onto his hands as she drops hers behind her.

Lorelai pauses in the doorway of the nursery. With a gasp, she stares at her children. Luke wraps an arm around her waist, looking over her shoulder, completely unable to keep his hands off of her. "They've grown. They're so big," Lorelai breathes. Luke looks at Lorelai. He kisses her cheek.

"Go hold them, they've missed you," Luke whispers in her ear. Lorelai nods, walking out of his grip and over to Olivia. She sits down on the floor between her two children and lifts Olivia out of the chair. Olivia looks up at Lorelai and gurgles as a smile spreads across Lorelai's face.

"Hi Sweetie, it's Mommy, you remember me?" Lorelai coos. Luke walks over and sits down next to Lorelai, picking up Liam into his arms. Lorelai leans over and kisses Liam's forehead. "Hello, my sweet boy." Olivia grabs onto Lorelai's hair as she leans over to Liam. "Hey there pumpkin, Mommy's going to need that." Lorelai slowly takes her hair out of Olivia's grasp as the girl grabs onto Lorelai's finger instead.

"She just wants to hold onto you," Luke says.

"Baby beluga," Lorelai sings, rocking Olivia in her arms. "Baby Beluga." Olivia gurgles. She glances up at Luke and winks.

"I hope you didn't get her singing voice," Luke says to Liam.

"Yes because baseball players don't sing," Lorelai teases. Luke points over to the dresser where a miniature Red Sox cap lays. "But what if he's a Yankees fan?" Luke eyes go wide.

"That would be treasonous," Luke declares.

"Olivia says Go Yankees," Lorelai coos, gently pumping Olivia's arm in the air. "Go Yankees, Daddy, go Yankees," Lorelai cheers in a baby voice. Luke shakes his head.

"That's it, you're not allowed to talk sports with our kids." Lorelai laughs. Liam yawns quietly.

"Aw…" Lorelai says. "Is it time for their nap already?" Luke shrugs.

"I hadn't really gotten them into a regular routine, you know, with everything going on, but they should be tired." Lorelai nods.

"What do you usually do before bedtime? Do you read to them? That's what I did with Rory," Lorelai says.

"And probably why she lived in the library." Lorelai giggles.

"But would that be a bad thing? We don't want to raise a bunch of dummies. Do we? Do we baby?" Lorelai coos back down at Olivia. Luke shakes his head. He reaches next to him, grabbing the closest book and hands it to Lorelai.

"You read," Luke tells her. Lorelai takes the book, looking a little unsure for a moment. "They want to hear your voice." Lorelai nods, opening the book. She smiles down, remembering reading the book to Rory as a baby.

"In the great green room there was a telephone, and a red balloon..." Lorelai begins.


	72. Chapter 72

**Notes**:

Well a few of you figured out what book Lorelai was reading at the end of the last chapter, but for those of you who asked, she was reading Goodnight Moon.

**squiddrude **- Yeah, the Indians. You and my family, although it's not that good of year to be an Indians fan I guess.

**pixiechick12 **- Thank you. Yes, it was daring for me not to go 'oh they have babies and ladida happiness', I'm appreciative of you and all who liked the path that I chose. I thought it was a story that needed to be told.

**purtyinpink71121 **- I've said a few times but there is an end, not for quite a few chapters. I'm considering the possibility of a sequel but we will see.

Hmmmm... the line thing doesn't seem to be working so I'll make my own...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Lorelai closes the book and lays her head on Luke's shoulder. Luke turns his face to kiss the top of her head. "It should be like this forever," Lorelai wishes softly.

"It can be. Us. You, me, Olivia, Liam, Rory and April. This forever," Luke tells her. Lorelai grins.

"That's not what I meant. I want them to be this little forever. All they want is to love us and to be loved by us. It's so simple."

"It is," Luke agree. He sniffs. "Jeez, but then they do that." He wrinkles his nose, moving his face back from the child in his lap. Lorelai laughs.

"Are you disgusted by our son's bathroom habits?" Lorelai teases. Luke gives her a look. Lorelai laughs again. "Okay, okay, I'll take care of it." Lorelai slowly gets on her knees and stands, Olivia still in her arms.

"Boy am I glad you came back." Lorelai shakes her head.

"Well I'm not imprinting slave on my forehead, so don't think you're never going to have change a diaper," Lorelai informs Luke, who finally stands up. He lays Liam on the changing table. "Where are the diapers?" Lorelai glances around, putting Olivia down in her crib.

"Oh, I ran out and Anna went out and grabbed me some more. I think she shoved them in the closet," Luke realizes. He goes into the closet and grabs big bag of diapers. Lorelai raises an eyebrow as she puts the wipes on the table.

"So Anna was a big help while I was gone," Lorelai notes. Luke sighs, shrugging. Lorelai smiles. "It's okay. It's actually nice to know that you couldn't handle it on your own, makes me feel less incompetent." Luke chuckles.

"Yeah, I don't know what I would have done without Lane, Anna, April and Babette."

"Well I'm going to give them all gold stars next time I see them."

"I'm sure they'd like that more than a box of chocolates," Luke teases. Lorelai shakes her head as she changes Liam's diaper.

"Okay one down. Switch," Lorelai says, pressing down the last tab on the diaper. Luke picks up Olivia, putting her on the changing table, and Lorelai puts Liam in his crib. Luke glances over at Lorelai. She stares at him and then gasps. Lorelai reaches up and draws the letters S-L-A-V-E on her forehead with her pointer finger.

"I knew it," Luke jokes. Lorelai shakes her head.

"Okay, but be prepared to watch a master at work. When Rory was a baby, I got so good, I could change it in 5 seconds flat," Lorelai boasts, quickly changing Olivia. "There, all done, Sweets," Lorelai says, kissing Olivia on the forehead. She lifts Olivia off of the table and places her in her crib. Then Lorelai glances at Luke. "So do we sing?" Lorelai asks. Luke raises an eyebrow, an uneasy look on his face.

"Sing?" he asks with distaste. Lorelai folds her arms across her chest, pursing her lips, thinking.

"Oh!" she realizes and runs out of the room. Luke has a look of alarm on his face, but shrugs. He bends down and puts the book back on the shelf. Lorelai walks back in holding the gift that Chris gave her.

"What's that?" Luke asks.

"I think it's…" Lorelai rips the bow off and puts it on Luke's head, winking. Then she rips the wrapping paper off of the gift. "Yes!" Lorelai grins. Luke reaches out and takes the CD case out of her hand.

"Bono sings the lullabies," Luke reads. He glances over at Lorelai, wrinkling his nose, but Lorelai's eyes are bright and excited.

"Yeah! He recorded this when Alison was pregnant with Elijah in '99. I must have mentioned it to Christopher," Lorelai tells Luke.

"Christopher?" Luke repeats, confused. Lorelai blushes.

"Yeah… well… I kinda stopped over at Christopher's on my way to New Hampshire," Lorelai admits. Luke raises an eyebrow. "Nothing happened. I'm not even sure why I went there. We just talked and he gave me this." Lorelai shrugs, as if it's not a big deal. Luke shakes his head. "He just wanted to give this to the twins."

"I can't believe… you went there? After the last time?" Luke asks, struggling to understand Lorelai's actions. He rubs his forehead, stepping away from her. Lorelai presses her lips together, a little embarrassed.

"Luke…" Lorelai tries to look at him, but the worry in her eyes, keeps her from actually looking into his eyes. Luke shakes his head, holding up a hand.

"Let's just…" He waves a hand over at Liam's crib. Lorelai nods slowly. She takes the CD from Luke and opens it, putting the CD in the CD player. Luke walks over to Olivia's crib. "Sweet dreams, Baby Girl," Luke says gruffly, touching Olivia's hand. Then he walks over to Liam's crib and squeezes his son's foot. "Stay strong, Kiddo." Then Luke glances at Lorelai coldly, and walks out of the nursery.

Lorelai sighs. Forlornly, she walks over to Liam's crib. Touching her fingers to her lips, she touches Liam's head. "I love you Liam, I always have." Then she walks over to Olivia's cribs and repeats her actions to Olivia. Finally she walks over to the light switch and flips it. "I'll be back later to check on you. I'll never leave again," Lorelai promises. She grabs the baby monitor and walks out.

Lorelai scratches the back of her head, preparing herself for the upcoming discussion. Adjusting her clothes, Lorelai takes a deep breath and walks downstairs to find Luke pacing in the living room. "Luke?" Lorelai calls. He stops in his tracks and looks up at her as she stops at the bottom of the stairs.

"Did you sleep with him?" Luke asks. Lorelai gives him a wide-eyed stare.

"What?" Lorelai asks, in shock.

"Did you sleep with him?" Luke repeats.

"Luke!"

"I'm serious, Lorelai, did you sleep with him?"

"Of course I didn't sleep with him! I told you nothing happened," Lorelai insists. Luke shrugs. "You don't believe me?"

"I'm not sure that I can," Luke explains.

"Excuse me?"

"It's not like it hasn't happened before."

"I've never cheated on you!" Lorelai exclaims.

"But you did cheat on him. You cheated on him with me. How do I know this doesn't go both ways?"

"Because it doesn't, Luke, it doesn't."

"Yeah, but how do I know that?" Luke goes back to pacing. Lorelai scoffs, twisting her hair in her fingers. "You know, I was going to make this big apology because when Anna and April came over to help me out, Anna kissed me."

"She kissed you!" Lorelai exclaims.

"Yeah, she kissed me," he responds, putting emphasis on 'she'. "I didn't kiss her, in fact I pushed her away from me. I thought I'd tell you the story and we'd laugh about it, about how crazy she was to try to kiss a guy who's committed to someone else. But that someone else isn't committed."

"I am, you just gotta trust me," Lorelai responds.

"I can't. He only found out that you cheated on him because Jess has a big mouth. You lied to him for months. You just wanted to go on as if nothing had happened between us and just lie to him for the rest of your life. You wanted to continue letting him believe he had won the princess. Cuts both ways, Lorelai." Lorelai furrows her eyebrows.

"Okay, Gloria Estefan, but I'm not lying this time," Lorelai repeats. Luke shakes his head. "I can't believe you don't believe me."

"You were never going to tell Christopher, Lorelai! You can claim all you want that you were, but you were never going to. It took him beating you to get you to tell the truth!"

"Fine, Luke! Go ahead. Take a swing at me. Choke me. Shove me against the wall!" Lorelai screams. Luke stops, staring at her, amazed that she would say something like this, not knowing how to react. "Come on Luke, if that's the only way you think you're going to get the truth out of me," Lorelai baits him. They glare at each other. "I'm telling you the truth," Lorelai states coldly.

"Lorelai, I just don't feel like I can trust you," Luke admits. Lorelai sighs.

"I didn't cheat on you. I would never cheat on you," Lorelai maintains.

"But how do I know that? How can I be sure?" Luke asks.

"We're getting married, we're engaged."

"You were engaged to Christopher," Luke reminds Lorelai.

"But we have kids together."

"And you and Christopher had Rory." Lorelai presses her lips together. "Tell me Lorelai, tell me how it's different this time," Luke begs. Lorelai looks away, twisting her hands in front of her. "Tell me how our relationship is different from the one you had with Max or Christopher." Lorelai shrugs. Luke shakes his head.

"It is," Lorelai whispers.

"But why do you know that?"

"Because… because, I…" Lorelai presses her lips together, unable to get the words out. Luke shakes his head.

"It's no different. You'll never change. You'll always be the 16 year old girl who got knocked up just to have someone with her always. You'll always be the 17 year old who ran away from her problems instead of facing them. You'll always be the egotistical, self-absorbed, immature child that I've always known," Luke says. Lorelai's tongue presses into her cheek as she listens to Luke's hurtful words. "And you'll never change. You'll never mature. And your children will always be more mature than you. They'll always be the adults in the relationship." At this final statement, Lorelai's eyes narrow, unable to swallow this last statement from Luke.

"Get. Out," Lorelai spits out, pointing towards the door. Luke shakes his head.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Luke responds coldly. He walks to the front door and slams it behind him, not looking back once.

Lorelai slowly walks over to the window, from where she watches Luke angrily get in his truck and drive off. Falling to her knees, Lorelai presses her eyes closed and she shake. "Dammit!" she cries, her hands covering her face as she's wracked with sobs. The door slamming woke the twins and they begin screaming upstairs. And Lorelai is all alone again. With the babies upstairs crying. And she is crumpled over her knees sobbing.


	73. Chapter 73

**The Dragonfly**

Lorelai slams the kitchen door open as she walks from the dining room in the kitchen. She looks tired and her face is drawn, but she's full of energy. Tom is following closely behind her with a clipboard in his hands. "Tom, we have to have a smoke detector there," Lorelai points above the stove.

"We have one just above the door when you enter," Tom tells her. Lorelai shakes her head.

"Not enough."

"How do you know?"

"Because Sookie is a klutz," Lorelai answers simply.

"Hey!" Sookie exclaims glancing over her shoulder. She's at the table in the center with a new employee going over the new menu. Lorelai gives Sookie a look. "Okay, okay, she's right," Sookie relents.

"I just don't want another fire, one was more than enough for me," Lorelai declares, making a negative sigh with her hands.

"Okay, another smoke detector it is," Tom agrees, jotting this down.

"And those vents need to be painted, they really stick out against the colors of the kitchen," Lorelai says, pointing. "And it needs to be done soon because in a week Sookie's going to be wanting to try out new recipes and she can't do that in a place that smells like paint."

"Is it really that noticeable? I mean, the guests won't come back here," Tom notes.

"Yes, but I'll be back here and I want everything to be perfect," Lorelai states. Tom notices Lorelai's stern expression.

"Okay…" He adds this to the list.

"Next," Lorelai continues, motioning for Tom to follow her out of the kitchen. Sookie shares a look with her helper.

"Just give me one quick second," Sookie says quickly to the employee next to her, putting her pen down. "Just one second." She holds up one finger and walks out of the kitchen, to find Lorelai and Tom in the parlor.

"Do you have the wallpaper for this room yet?" Lorelai asks Tom.

"I'm not sure, I can have someone check the shed."

"It needs to go up. Actually I should check it before it goes up, I'm not sure I like what I picked anymore." Tom groans. He glances over at Sookie, who's walked up.

"The banister," Lorelai adds.

"Thursday," Tom answers.

"The doors."

"Ordered."

"And they'll be in?"

"Soon."

"When soon? The test run is just a month away!"

"Yeah, Lorelai, you reminded me of that three times already today," Tom says, exasperated. Sookie gives him a pitiful look as Lorelai glances around. "You have to calm down and take a breath, Lorelai. Everything is going to be done." Lorelai looks back at him, a blank look on her face as if she didn't hear what he just said.

"Okay, well I think that's it from what I can see," Lorelai says. Tom raises an eyebrow glancing down at his list.

"Oh is that all?" Tom asks, sarcastically. "Did you want the driveway paved? You said you wanted to use golf carts in the summer."

"Oh, uh, yeah," Lorelai replies vaguely.

"I can have the guys out tomorrow." Lorelai nods, glancing away. "Can we talk about the budget then?" Tom asks. Lorelai looks up at him alarmed.

"Are we over again?" Lorelai asks worried. Tom glances over at Sookie, who also looks worried.

"Well if we add in the driveway…"

"And even if we don't?" Sookie asks. Tom shrugs.

"Could be. I mean we finished the stables but the roof needs to be checked again." Lorelai and Sookie share a concerned look. "You want to rework the budget?" Lorelai sighs.

"I think we've already budgeted out all our money. We've got none coming in and between the two of us, we have three infants at home that need clothes and, you know, food," Lorelai notes.

"Guess you can't scrimp on that," Tom notes.

"I'm not Joan Crawford," Lorelai replies. Tom actually cracks a small smile. Lorelai shakes her head, rubbing her forehead. "Okay, don't worry, Tom, we'll come up with something."

"I could fire some guys," Tom offers. Lorelai raises an eyebrow. "Well I just hired Dean and Scotty." Lorelai shakes her head.

"Dean needs the money," Lorelai says. Sookie looks at her like she's crazy.

"This isn't about helping our friends, Lorelai!" Sookie exclaims. Lorelai gives her a look, but Sookie doesn't change her expression. Lorelai gives Tom a small smile as if apologizing for Sookie's outburst.

"Why don't you get working on that and Sookie and I will go over the budget," Lorelai says. Tom glances over at Sookie and then shrugs.

"Okay," Tom responds, shaking his head as he walks off. "Women," he mutters. Lorelai gasps, her mouth open in shock.

"Lorelai!" Sookie exclaims, but Lorelai's still staring at Tom. "Lorelai!" Sookie repeats, tugging on Lorelai's arm. Lorelai glances over at Sookie. "What are we going to do?" Sookie asks urgently. Lorelai sighs, shaking Sookie's hand off her arm.

"I don't know Sookie!" Lorelai snaps and then sighs, realized that she was too harsh. "Sorry." Lorelai rubs her forehead, feeling another headache coming on. "We'll figure something out. I mean I've got the check from…" She takes a deep breath knowing that there is a thirty thousand dollar check just sitting on her nightstand. "Do you wanna get outta here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was thinking we could blow this pop stand, head out to Hartford, maybe look at different wallpapers for this room, at least then we'd be doing stuff for the inn," Lorelai suggests. Sookie frowns, mulling this over. "Come on Sookie, you know you want to." A grin slowly creeps across Sookie's face.

"Yeah okay," Sookie agrees. "You know, you're really good at that."

"Yeah I've been called David Koresh before," Lorelai responds.

"Oh I hope not," Sookie says with a giggle. Michel walks over.

"Can you please tell these workers to wipe their feet before they come in? They bring in all this dust and I'm wearing nice new shoes," Michel complains.

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you walked into a place that was under construction," Sookie tells him logically. Michel glares at her.

"I have to wear them before I wear them around Pau-Pau and Chin-Chin or they will chew on them," Michel explains. Lorelai wrinkles her nose.

"And you have dogs, why?" Sookie asks.

"Because they are so adorable. Just yesterday Pau-Pau did the cutest thing" Sookie holds up a hand to interrupt him.

"Okay, you'll tell us and no one will laugh, let's move on," Sookie says quickly.

"Michel, Sookie and I are going to head out to Hartford to look at wallpaper, you wanna join?" Lorelai asks.

"But you like to drive with the windows down and that will mess up my hair," Michel whines, lightly patting his perfectly shaved head.

"Well, how about if I promise to drive with the windows up?" Lorelai offers.

"And no air conditioning?" Lorelai rolls her eyes.

"And no air conditioning," Lorelai agrees. Michel smiles. Lorelai shakes her head, glancing at Sookie.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**In the Jeep**

Lorelai is driving the familiar road to Hartford, not really paying attention to Sookie and Michel's chatter. She keeps both hands on the wheel, her eyes on the road as she drives. "Wow, I haven't been to Hartford in forever," Sookie realizes.

"Me either, we were so busy at my other job, I've barely left Stars Hallow in the past few months. What about you, Lorelai?" Michel asks. Sookie glances over at Lorelai, seeing her friend staring off.

"Hey Sweetie," Sookie says to Lorelai, reaching out and rubbing Lorelai's arm. Lorelai jumps at Sookie's touch, having been spacing out for awhile. She takes a deep breath and then glances over at Sookie, forcing a smile. "You all right?"

"Who me? Yeah, I'm fine. I'm good. I'm Grrrreat," Lorelai jokes half-heartedly. Sookie raises an eyebrow.

"Well, Tony, Michel and I were just wondering when is the last time you've been to Hartford?" Sookie asks, hoping that some conversation will do Lorelai some good, bring her out of this funk she's been in ever since Luke walked out the door.

"Well, I don't know, maybe, uh…" Lorelai furrows her eyebrows, thinking. "Well, not since before the twins were born and uh… well I haven't been to see the 'voices of disappointment' since that fight I had with them just after Rory started at Yale."

"Oh, right," Sookie remembers.

"So probably not since the day I ran into Christopher," Lorelai recognizes. Sookie looks up sharply.

"Christopher?"

"Yeah, you remember, I told you about it. It was right before you had Davey." Sookie looks up, trying to remember. Then she shrugs, giving up. "Anyways, I was looking for silverware and I stopped for coffee and I ran into Christopher."

"You seem to be running into Christopher a lot lately," Sookie comments. Lorelai quickly glances at Sookie.

"How's that?"

"Well, then. And when you were away. And Rory said he showed up at the hospital." Lorelai smirks.

"So a lot means three?" Lorelai laughs half-heartedly.

"It just seems to be that maybe, if you cut him out of your life, I mean completely and permanently, maybe you would have a lot less problems," Sookie considers. Lorelai blinks, not really knowing what to say. "I mean I know he means a lot to you."

"Yeah, Sookie, he does. We met when he moved in down the street when we were six years old," Lorelai reminds Sookie, a little frustrated.

"Yes, and from them on you and Christopher were like peas and carrots." Lorelai groans.

"He's not my Forrest Gump!" Lorelai exclaims. Michel raises an eyebrow in the back, really having a good time listening to the gossip.

"Well he sure seems to be. You guys just randomly bump into each other. You have a child together. You were almost engaged at one point. Almost all of the important events in your life are highlighted by Christopher," Sookie says.

"Because he was my best friend, for years. He knew me. We told each other everything. And then we had Rory together. And even though he disappeared for a long time, when he came back it was always like old times," Lorelai tries to explain. "But I'll admit, I was never in love with him. He just… he's nice to have around when things are going bad. A best friend is always nice to have around. Like Bette Midler and Johnny Carson, you've got to have friends."

"Yeah, I just think that maybe you shouldn't see Christopher for a little while," Sookie suggests.

"Well I have to thank him for the gift. But still… we don't see each other that often," Lorelai maintains. She purses her lips. "Why? Did Luke say something?" Sookie raises an eyebrow.

"When would he have said something?"

"When you picked up Liam today."

"Jackson picked up Liam," Sookie tells Lorelai, who frowns. "Have you spoken to Luke since..."

"No."

"Have you tried to?

"No."

"Have you wanted to?"

"No, Sookie, no!" Lorelai cries. Then she huffs. Sookie looks concerned.

"I'm just worried about you, Hun. You're just getting over the baby blues and I know you're on the medication, but it's still something you need to work through. And you and Luke were so close. I know you miss him." Lorelai sighs. She presses her lips together, her chin trembling as she tries to hold it in.

"Please Sookie," Lorelai whispers. "I don't want to talk about this." Lorelai grips the steering wheel harder and stares straight ahead. Sookie sighs folding her hands in her lap. Michel glances at each of them.

"Did you know that the marmoset and the tamarin are the only primates that mate for life?" Michel asks in the awkward silence. Sookie glances over her shoulder, giving him a strange look. "I'm just saying they do and some wolves and beavers but humans are not genetically designed to mate for life."

"You remember I'm married, right Michel?" Sookie asks.

"Yes, I am not a dunderhead. I ran your wedding. I'm just saying it must be a lot of work to mate for life, to go against genetics," Michel figures.

"Well you're in luck Michel, you have no one to mate with for life," Sookie responds coldly.

"And I don't want to. It's enough work with Pau-Pau and Chin-Chin. I'm surprised that you want that," Michel says.

"I do want that. In fact, I have that," Sookie insists. "And it's not a lot of work if you love the other person."

"I want that too," Lorelai says quietly. Michel and Sookie share a look. A tear drifts down her cheek. Lorelai shakes her head quickly, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "I want that too," she says to herself.


	74. Chapter 74

**Rory's Dorm**

Lorelai knocks on Rory's dorm room door, folding her arms over her chest. Sookie stands next to Lorelai, a concerned look on her face. Michel stands behind them, an annoyed look on his face. Rory opens the door. "Mom!" Rory exclaims in surprise.

"Hey Sweets, we were in the neighborhood and we thought we would stop by," Lorelai says. Rory raises an eyebrow at Sookie, who shrugs. Rory throws her arms around her mother's neck. Lorelai chuckles but hugs Rory back.

"You were in the neighborhood?" Rory asks, letting go of Lorelai, who shrugs.

"Well, thereabouts," Lorelai replies vaguely.

"I see. Hey Sookie. Hi Michel," Rory greets the other two with a wave of her hand. "You hungry?"

"Yeah!" Sookie says, delighted. Lorelai shrugs.

"We could go to Hector's," Rory says to Lorelai, trying to bribe her mother to eat. Lorelai gives Rory a soft smile.

"I think I had enough of that a few weeks ago." Rory giggles.

"Cafeteria, I can swing us some free meals now that I work there," Rory suggests.

"Ug, college food. Do they even have salad?" Michel whines.

"No, salad," Lorelai teases, repeating Michel's pronunciation with an accent on the second syllable. "But possibly some nasty green stuff they call salad," Lorelai adds putting the accent on the first syllable this time. Michel glares at her.

"You think you're so funny," Michel complains.

"Yeah, they call me Ellen," Lorelai jokes. Michel rolls his eyes. Rory's grinning, observing Lorelai and Michel's interaction.

"Okay well I'm going to go get my key and purse, come on in," Rory says, motioning with her hand. Rory walks back into the bedroom as the three adults walk into the dorm. Michel and Sookie glance around, checking out the dorm room. Paris walks out of the bedroom.

"Hey, Paris," Lorelai greets her. "Paris, these are my coworkers, Sookie and Michel." Lorelai motions. Paris raises an eyebrow.

"Nice," Paris grunts. Lorelai frowns. Michel and Sookie share a look. "How is it that you have time to surprise Rory here?"

"What do you mean?" Lorelai asks.

"Well, I thought you just gave birth." Lorelai laughs nervously.

"That was a few months ago, Paris. And the kids are fine. Liam's with Sookie's husband and her son and Olivia's with her father. You don't need to worry," Lorelai tells Paris as Rory walks out of the room.

"I'm just interested because I'm taking a child psychology class. It's interesting how it affects children when their parents aren't together, especially sudden splits like yours," Paris comments. Lorelai raises an eyebrow at Rory, who blushes.

"Sorry, it just came out. I forgot who I was talking to," Rory apologizes. Lorelai shakes her head. "Kay, Paris, see ya later." Rory waves, motioning for the group to head out.

As Rory turns to lock the door behind her, Lorelai mumbles over her shoulder, "Anyone else. Anyone else would have been better." Rory grins. She turns to face the rest of the group.

"So, what were you doing in New Haven?" Rory asks.

"We went to Hartford to check out wallpapers for the parlor," Sookie says.

"Wasn't that already done?"

"It was until Nurse Rached showed up," Michel mumbles, glaring at Lorelai. Rory glances up at her mom, who shoves her hands in her back pockets.

"You ever think about taking a rest?" Rory asks softly.

"Rory," Lorelai warns.

"Mom, you can't take this out on those around you. Before you know it, they'll all quit."

"Well some people can't quit," Lorelai responds, motioning towards Sookie with her chin.

"I'm going to if you keep playing that sappy music you were playing in the car," Sookie shoots back. Rory raises an eyebrow at Lorelai, who sighs.

"I told you not to tell her," Lorelai mumbles. Rory gives Lorelai a look. Lorelai frowns and opens her big bag, digging around until she pulls out a CD case, handing it to her daughter.

"Aretha's Since You've Been Gone, Natalie Cole's Miss You Like Crazy, Foreigner's That Was Yesterday…" Rory pauses, glancing at the next song. "Jessica Simpson? Really?"

"It spoke to me," Lorelai answers with a poker face. Rory raises an eyebrow.

"Oh which one?" Michel asks, excited.

"I Have Loved You," Rory answers.

"Oh I love that one. It speaks to me too!" Michel cries. Rory wrinkles her nose. Lorelai looks away, ashamed of having the same music taste as Michel. Rory shakes her head and looks back at the CD. She frowns.

"Phil Collins's Groovy Kind of Love," Rory reads. She looks up at Lorelai with sympathy. Lorelai fidgets with the ring on her finger but says nothing. "Red Wanting Blue's When Hearts Collide, Tiffany's Could've Been… Mom, this sucks."

"Actually it's a really good CD," Lorelai says brightly.

"Yeah good music, but this isn't what you should be listening to. It's only going to hurt you more," Rory tells Lorelai.

"I'm fine," Lorelai insists. Rory waves the CD. Lorelai glances at Michel and then Sookie and shrugs. Rory frowns, she glances over at Michel and Sookie. She takes out her ID and hands it to Sookie.

"Why don't you guys go ahead of us, just show them my ID, they know me," Rory suggests. Sookie takes the ID and nods.

"Sure thing," Sookie answers.

"But I wanna…" Michel whines.

"Come on, Michel!" Sookie grabs his arm and leads him away. Lorelai watches them go, pursing her lips and shoving her hands in her back pockets. Rory gives Lorelai a stern look.

"Come on, Mom. I hate seeing you like this. Now come on, this is me you're talking to," Rory insists. Lorelai looks down. Rory reaches out and rubs Lorelai's arm, causing Lorelai to look back at her with misty eyes. "Mom, when Dean and I broke up that time, you were so great. I want to do the same for you." Lorelai swallows. "I want it to be the same."

"Oh, Kid, you have no idea," Lorelai whispers. Rory cocks her head, waiting for Lorelai to go on. "I couldn't say it. I know I love him, but I just… I couldn't say it." Lorelai shakes her head.

"Maybe you're still not ready," Rory suggests. Lorelai runs her tongue over her bottom lip.

"If I'm not ready this time, I'll never be." Rory presses her lips together, not knowing what to say. She just strokes Lorelai's arm in comfort. "I hate that I'm like this, noncommitable."

"And Webster's rolling in his grave," Rory mutters.

"I hate that," Lorelai continues. "I hate that I can't say it to him, I tried but the words wouldn't come out. But most of all…" Lorelai sighs, folding her arms over her chest. "Most of all I hate myself for losing him." A tear rolls down her cheek as she bites her bottom lip.

"Don't give up hope yet," Rory says softly. "Because I don't think you've lost him yet. Promise me you won't give up hope." Lorelai takes a deep breath.

"I won't give up hope," Lorelai whispers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

**Lorelai's House**

Sookie and Lorelai walk inside the house having already dropped Michel off at home. "Jackson," Sookie calls. "Jackson we're here!" Lorelai glances around her at the now messy house. She sighs, remembering that when Luke lived there, the house was always clean. Jackson walks down the stairs, carrying Liam and Davey carefully on his hips.

"Oh hello there, my little Greg Maddux," Lorelai coos, taking Liam from Jackson and kissing him on the top of his head. "Did you have a good time with Davey?" She smiles down at Liam. "What's that?" Lorelai brings her ear to Liam. "You say Jackson called you a Bronx Bomber?" Lorelai gasps, glaring jokingly at Jackson.

"Hey! I did not!" Jackson exclaims. Sookie giggles. Lorelai grins. "Here." Jackson hands Davey to Sookie.

"Well thanks for watching him. I can take Davey this weekend if you want," Lorelai offers, shifting Liam to her waist. Sookie nods.

"And we'll pick up Olivia from Luke tomorrow so you can make the switch?" Sookie asks. Lorelai frowns, glancing down at Liam. "Unless you want to go over to the diner yourself."

"No," Lorelai says quickly. "No, please, just pick up Olivia tomorrow." Sookie shares a look with Jackson. "Thanks for all your help."

"That's what friends are for," Sookie answers.

"Okay then, Diane and Stevie, I'll call you tomorrow," Lorelai replies. Sookie nods. "Say bye bye Liam." Lorelai picks up Liam's hand and waves it. Sookie waves Davey's back. They chuckle.

"Bye, Hun. Take care," Sookie says. She and Jackson leave. Lorelai looks down at Liam.

"Guess it's just us chickens," Lorelai mumbles. She opens her bag, taking out the CD. She puts it in the CD play, switches it to Tiffany's Could've Been and presses play. "What's that you say, Liam? Bock? Bock, bock?" Lorelai giggles. "Don't call your Mama a chicken." She cups the back of Liam's head, pulling it to her shoulder and kisses the top of his head. And for a moment, she just stands there holding her son, listening to the lyrics of the long. "Could've been so beautiful, could've been so right, could've been my lover, every day of my life," Lorelai sings along with Tiffany softly. A picture on the mantle catches her eye. She walks over and picks up the same picture Luke had stared at back when Lorelai was gone. She looks over another picture of them, the one that Rachel had given her a few years ago. Shaking her head, Lorelai looks back at the picture in her hand, a tear running down her cheek. "How can you hold what could've been, on a cold and lonely night," she sings. She shakes her head, putting the picture back down. "You could've been the one," she whispers. Lorelai kisses Liam's head, pulling his head to her shoulder again, and then walks up the stairs.


	75. Chapter 75

**Luke's Diner**

April sits at the counter, holding Liam on her lap. There's a half eaten cheese sandwich in front of her. "So you ready?" April asks.

"Ready," Luke answers, grabbing a meal from the window.

"Da-ad," April whines. "Seriously."

"I'm ready!" Luke insists. He puts the meal down in front of the customer. "More coffee?"

"Water, please," the man replies. Luke nods.

"Where's the paper?" April asks.

"Right here," Luke replies, tapping his head. "I promise you April, I learned this in fifth grade too."

"Oh-kay," April says in disbelief. Luke shakes his head, filling a glass with ice and water. "I'm ready."

"We'll start easy. Texas," Luke says. He walks over and places the cup in front of the customer.

"Austin, that was easy," April answers. Luke nods.

"Don't forget to eat," Luke reminds her. April rolls her eyes but takes a bite of the sandwich. Then she plays with Liam's hands. Luke watches her, almost smiling. "Georgia."

"Atlanta." Luke nods as Liz walks in.

"Jeez…" Luke grumbles.

"Hey there big Bro!" Liz cries. She walks up behind Luke, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Liz," Luke whines, wiggling out of her embrace. As he turns to face her, Liz grins back at him. "I didn't realize you were coming back so soon."

"Well I missed ya!" Luke rolls his eyes, walking back behind the counter.

"Connecticut," Luke says. April rolls her eyes, almost exactly like Luke just did.

"Hartford," April replies shaking her head.

"Last time you missed me, I hadn't seen you in three years. This time just a few months, what gives?" Luke asks Liz, who sidles up to the counter, sitting down next to April.

"I have news," Liz answers. "Hey April. Oh is this one of the little ones?"

"That's Liam," Luke tells her.

"Aw! Can I hold him?" April glances at Luke, who nods. She hands Liam over to Liz.

"Aw, he's adorable. He's got your nose," Liz tells him. Luke sighs.

"Liz, you can't possibly know that, he's only twelve weeks," Luke insists. Liz just grins, bouncing Liam in the air. "So what is this news?" Luke asks. "Ohio," he adds, glancing at April.

"You're never going to believe it," Liz says excitedly.

"Okay, I'm preparing my face of disbelief," Luke grumbles.

"I'm getting married!" Liz exclaims.

"Wow, congratulations!" April exclaims. Luke shakes his head at her. "Columbus," she says. Luke nods.

"To who…?" Luke stares at her, thinking it over and then realizes. "No."

"Oh Luke, TJ's great. He didn't steal a thing when we were moving Jess out," Liz maintains.

"No."

"Luke, this isn't Party of Five, you're not the big brother that's going to run my life now that the parents are dead."

"And I never said I was. Was I running your life when you got pregnant at 18? Was I running your life when you married that bozo, Jimmy? Or any of the other 18 million losers you've married?" Luke throws back at her. Liz sighs, her once excited face becoming sad. She hands Liam back to April.

"Luke, you can be as displeased with my decision as you want, but I love TJ and he loves me, and I'm going to marry him," Liz states. Luke stares at her, actually listening to what she's saying. He sighs.

"When?" he asks.

"A week from Friday. And Carrie's going to be my maid of honor."

"Oh, jeez, really?" Luke asks, annoyed.

"She's my best friend, and don't pretend you don't like her. She said you were checking her out last time she was in here," Liz teases. Luke shakes his head.

"I was not."

"I won't tell Lorelai." Luke presses his lips together and then walks over to the window to get another meal for someone. Liz glances over at April, who looks down. "Luke, where's your daughter?"

"Which one?" Liz gives him a look as he sets the meal down in front of the customer. "She's with Lorelai today."

"Where is Lorelai? I want to tell her about the wedding." Luke takes a deep breath and walks over to the coffee maker.

"I don't know," Luke mumbles. He glances over at April. "Nevada."

"I know she'd want to hear. Did you guys set a date yet?" Liz asks. Luke dumps some coffee in and starts the machine. "Luke?"

"No."

"Well you've been engaged since Christmas, when are you going to set a date?"

"I don't know, some of us don't get married the moment it hits us. We can't all be Zsa Zsa Gabor," Luke replies. He glances at April. "Nevada," he repeats.

"What is this, capitals?" Liz asks April, who nods. "Las Vegas."

"No," Luke grunts.

"Carson City," April answers.

"Correct," Luke answers with a nod. Liz raises her eyebrow at April in surprise.

"Smart kid," Liz comments. "So Luke, tell me, why haven't you set a date?" Liz asks, folding her hands on the counter. Luke sighs, sharing a look with April.

"We had a fight," Luke tells Liz.

"You and Lorelai? Well, Luke, it'll work out, all couples fight," Liz insists. Luke shrugs, tapping the coffee machine. "Luke, I know you, it will work out." Luke presses his hands into the counter, looking down between them. He huffs and then glances at April.

"Alaska," he says to her. April frowns, thinking. Luke turns around leaning against the back counter, watching her.

"Juneau?" April asks. Luke nods, glancing up as the bells ring on the door.

"Sookie," Luke says. April giggles.

"Not a state," April says. She follows Luke's gaze. "Oh." Sookie nods to April and then looks back at Luke, who rolls eyes, thinking she's there to make amends between him and Lorelai.

"So who's TJ's best man?" Luke asks Liz, blatantly ignoring Sookie.

"Well… uh…" Liz stammers, glancing again at Sookie. "Maybe I can get Jess to come…"

"Jess is not coming. He's not getting near my family. Not after what he did," Luke claims.

"He's awfully sorry about that Luke. I think he can change," Liz responds. Luke shakes his head.

"Sorry doesn't fix what happened," he argues.

"And sorry seems to be the hardest word," April quips, trying to ease the tension. Luke glances over at her.

"Nebraska," he says. April furrows her eyebrows in deep concentration. "I thought we weren't switching the kids until tomorrow," Luke says, glancing up at Sookie.

"That's not why I'm here," Sookie answers. Luke looks back at April.

"Nebraska," Luke repeats. Sookie walks up behind April.

"It's a president," Sookie whispers in April's ear. April grins.

"Lincoln," April correctly answers, a smile spreading over her face.

"Do not give my daughter hints," Luke tells Sookie.

"I was just trying to help," she replies.

"You've helped enough," he spits back. Then he sighs, knowing Sookie really has helped. "Sorry." Sookie nods.

"Lorelai's grandmother died," Sookie tells him. Luke's mouth drops open.

"Oh that's terrible, is she doing okay?" Liz asks. Sookie's watching Luke but finally drags her gaze over to Liz and smiles softly.

"She's Lorelai, she's She-Ra, Princess of Power. She can handle anything," Sookie tells her. She looks back over at Luke. "You know, Lorelai, she keeps everything locked inside."

"Yes, I know Lorelai," Luke agrees. Liam gurgles, breaking the silence and April bounces him in her lap. Luke takes a deep breath and walks over to the coffee maker, grabbing the coffee pot. "Florida." Sookie rolls her eyes. Luke walks over to the tables and begins pouring them coffee.

"Luke, you can't just ignore this. She needs you," Sookie contends.

"If she needed me, why couldn't she come herself?" he asks.

"Because she's in Hartford trying to get her father to eat, trying to keep her mother from attacking her and trying make arrangements for the funeral. It's a lot for her to handle, especially with the test run coming up," Sookie tells him. Luke finishes pouring the cup of coffee, setting it on a nearby table, and walks over to stand in front of Sookie.

"The funeral's on Friday?" he asks. Sookie nods.

"And they'll be receiving guests at Richard and Emily's afterwards," she tells him. Luke runs his thumb across his forehead, mulling this over.

"Luke, you have to go," Liz presses.

"You know where Richard and Emily's is?" Sookie asks.

"Yes, Sookie, I know," Luke answers with a sigh. "Okay, we'll see." Sookie nods.

"I just thought you should know. I'll pick up the twins that morning so they can be with Lorelai at the funeral and after," Sookie offers. Luke nods. "I hope you decide to do the right thing." Sookie turns and walks out. Luke sighs again, his hands going to his hips.

"Tallahassee," April says. Luke glances over at her. He watches her play with Liam for a moment, a smile playing on his lips. He nods.


	76. Chapter 76

**Gilmore Mansion**

Lorelai and her family are at the mansion after Trix's funeral. She and Rory are on the couch in the living room each holding a twin. "So this is nice," Rory says blandly. Lorelai glances over at Rory, raising an eyebrow. Rory shrugs. "I don't know, what do you say about these kind of things?" Lorelai shrugs, glancing around at the group.

"Just remember, this could have been your life," Lorelai warns Rory.

"Ralph Edwards wouldn't have called this life constructive or above and beyond the call of duty." Rory mutters.

"Right," Lorelai agrees, softly running a hand over Olivia's head.

"How's Grampa doing?" Rory asks. Lorelai glances around trying to find Richard in the crowd, but can't.

"I think Mom got him to eat some more of that soup after the funeral. Or tried to." Lorelai shrugs.

"She's still mad?" Lorelai raises her eyebrows, nodding.

"Oh yeah. I don't know why though. Dad chose her. He loved her. He wanted to marry her," Lorelai states. Rory watches Lorelai consider this. Lorelai's staring off into space. "And she loved him. Who cares what anyone else…" Lorelai swallows. "He loved her," she repeats softly. Rory gently touches Lorelai's arm.

"Mom," Rory says sympathetically. Lorelai slowly looks over at Rory, a sadness in her eyes.

"Sookie says I'm afraid," Lorelai tells Rory, who furrows her eyebrows, but doesn't actually respond. "She says I'm afraid to tell him – tell him – that I love him." Lorelai clears her throat. "She says that telling someone you love them is saying that you can't live your life without them, that you're not whole without them, that you aren't you without them."

"I think that's true," Rory concurs. Lorelai kisses the top of Olivia's head, pondering this idea.

"I've always done things on my own. When I was young I was a free spirit, living my life my way, ignoring my parents and seeking out of the house. After you were born, I made sure to do things on my own. I raised you on my own. I provided for you on my own. I bought a house on my own, a car, a couch. I created the new image of the Independence Inn on my own. And I went to business school on my own. I never depended on anyone for anything, except your tuition." Lorelai purses her lips. "Telling Luke I love him means admitting I'm not whole without him…" Lorelai looks at Liam and Olivia and then up at Rory. "But look at what I can do with him." Rory smiles softly.

"They are cute," Rory says. Lorelai grins.

"That they are," Lorelai agrees, hugging Olivia to her.

"Lorelai!" Emily calls. Lorelai and Rory both look over at Emily, who is standing by the food table in the dining room. Lorelai rolls her eyes at Rory.

"Do you think she saw us?" Lorelai asks.

"Well I left my cloak of invisibility at home," Rory responds. Lorelai grins. "Come on." They both stand and walk over to Emily.

"You girls need to stop hiding from the guests. Your relatives have all been asking to meet the newest Gilmores," Emily tells them.

"Well I would have to ask who these new Gilmores are, because Liam and Olivia are Danes's," Lorelai responds coldly. Emily gives Lorelai a look.

"You know what I mean, Lorelai. Don't take that tone with me."

"Well, Gramma, we weren't hiding out, we were sitting in the middle of the living room," Rory tells Emily.

"You might as well have been. You two are in your own little world when you converse, it would be like trying to join a conversation with the Marx brothers," Emily retorts.

"Well it didn't help that we were speaking pig latin," Lorelai responds in a semi-serious tone. Emily raises an eyebrow as Lorelai's eyes glitter with mischief. "Om-may is-ay iving-gay e-may at-thay ook-lay," Loreali says to Rory. Rory's eyes go wide and she nods.

"Lorelai!" Emily reprimands her daughter. "Behave like your age for once in your life!"

"Aw, Mom, that's no fun," Lorelai whines.

"God help Liam and Olivia if they learn your bad habits," Emily snaps. Lorelai sighs, her expression serious again. "Now, I'm trying to make a plate to take over to your father and I don't know what to feed him."

"Well being that he's not two, I think he can feed himself," Lorelai responds. Emily rolls her eyes.

"Lorelai, can you be serious for just one second?" Lorelai glances at her wrist, where a watch would be. She looks up at Rory and grins. Rory shakes her head.

"Gramma, what does Grampa like to eat?" Rory asks Emily. Lorelai presses her lips together and glances around the room, not really paying attention to Rory and Emily chattering about food. As her eyes gaze into the front hall, she lets out a little gasp. "Mom?" Rory asks. "You okay?" Lorelai closes her mouth and then opens it again, in shock. Rory follows Lorelai's gaze and sees Luke standing in the front hallway. Luke is staring back at Lorelai with a similar intensity. Rory smiles to herself.

"Lorelai, maybe we should…" Emily trails off as she sees Lorelai isn't listening to her. Rory tugs on Emily's arm and motions with her chin at Luke, who is making his way over to them. Luke stops in front of all three women, breaking his gaze from Lorelai to glance at Emily and Rory.

"Emily, I'm sorry for your loss," Luke says gruffly. Emily arches an eyebrow.

"It wasn't much of a loss," Emily mutters.

"Mom!" Lorelai chastises Emily, who shrugs it off.

"Thank you Luke," Emily says, with a sickly sweet smile.

"Hey Rory," Luke says. Rory and Luke share a one arm hug as Rory's still holding onto Liam.

"Glad you came," Rory whispers in his ear. Luke nods to her, slowly letting her go. He gently runs his hand over Liam's head and then Olivia's, his eyes returning to Lorelai's. They stand there stupidly for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry," Luke manages. Lorelai looks confused as to what he's apologizing for. "For your loss," Luke adds. Lorelai draws in her breath, nodding, realizing what he's talking about.

"Thank you," Lorelai responds softly. Emily snorts. Lorelai gives Emily a look. Then she returns her eyes to Luke. "How did you know?"

"Sookie," Luke answers. He clears his throat. "Sookie came to the diner a few days ago and told me."

"That's Sookie, always good for a good message delivery," Lorelai says lamely. Luke raises an eyebrow. Lorelai smiles nervously.

"April sends her sympathies as well. She was there when Sookie told me but Anna had made plans for them today so she couldn't come," Luke explains. Lorelai nods.

"Tell her thank you," Lorelai says softly. Luke nods. He shoves his hands in his pockets. Lorelai glances at Rory, who shrugs. "I'm glad you came."

"You are?" Luke asks brightly.

"Of course, I mean, you are – the twins are – were – you know – related to Gran – so of course," Lorelai stammers.

"Oh, yeah, well, of course," Luke responds almost as incomprehensibly. They stare at each other for a moment as a small smile slowly creeps over both of their faces. "Big crowd you got here, she must have been loved," Luke says. Lorelai glances around.

"Loved?" Emily snorts.

"Gramma!" Rory exclaims this time

"Well, respected maybe," Luke adds. They all notice that Lorelai's staring off again and all notice Christopher at once. Lorelai looks down, shaking her head in anger. Chris waves over at them, receiving only a glare from Rory and blank stares from Luke and Emily. Lorelai timidly looks up at Luke.

"I didn't invite him," she whispers. Luke shakes his head.

"I can't – I can't do this, Lorelai," he responds, and turns and walks away.

"Luke!" Lorelai cries in a loud whisper. She begins to run after him, turning quickly to hand Olivia off to Emily. Lorelai follows into the front hall and out the door to the driveway where Luke has parked his truck, stumbling in her heels as she runs. "Luke!" she calls after him.

"I can't do this Lorelai!" he repeats harshly.

"Luke, stop! Talk to me! I said I didn't invite him, I don't know what he's doing here. So tell me what the big problem is!" Lorelai exclaims. Emily and Rory walk out of the house, each holding a twin, watching the scene.

"This is the problem," he responds, waving his hand back at the mansion. "All of this. This isn't me. You're not going to get this from me. I live in a small town and I'm going to die in a small town."

"Okay, John Mellencamp, but please tell me what that has to do with us."

"You want more than this, the small town stuff. You may not know what you want yet, but not this. All I have, all I am is Stars Hallow, and you want more than that." With that Luke gets in his truck and drives off, not giving Lorelai a chance to respond.

"I thought you knew me," Lorelai whispers to his fading truck, her eyes glittering with tears. She covers her mouth with her hand, her other hand going to her hip as she tries to maintain control of herself, still staring in the direction that Luke's truck drove off.

Slowly she turns back to the house, finally noticing Emily and Rory watching her. Choking back the tears, Lorelai stands there trembling for a moment. She takes a deep breath and walks over to them. "I have to – where's my purse?" she asks, her voice thick with tears. "Excuse me," she says, before they can respond. Rory and Emily share a look and follow Lorelai inside.

Lorelai's at the hall closet digging through until she finds her coat and purse. "I have to go. I can't stay. Sorry I just can't do this. I have to go," Lorelai rambles. She glances over at the twins. "Can you drop them off at Luke's when you get a chance?"

"Sure, I'll do it afterward," Rory responds. Lorelai nods. She gently touches Liam's cheek and kisses him on the head and repeats the same with Olivia. Shaking her head, Lorelai walks out. Rory watches her go, pressing her lips together.

"Do you know where she's going?" Emily asks. Rory shakes her head.

"I have no clue," Rory responds softly. She shares a look with Emily. Finding Chris in the crowd, Rory walks over to him. Grabbing his arm, she drags him away from the guests. "What were you thinking!"

"That your great-grandmother died and I should come and pay my respects," Chris responds logically. "Where's your mom?"

"She left!" Rory cries. She shakes her head, rubbing Liam's back. "Why do you always have do to this? She doesn't want to be with you. She wants to be with my dad, and that's not you. She wants to be with someone who's good to her."

"Rory, I swear to you, I meant nothing by this. I just wanted to express my sympathies," Chris replies.

"But you can't. She can't break free from you. I don't know why, but she can't. And I know she wants to, she loves Luke," Rory insists. Chris gives her a sorrowful look. "You're ruining everything!"

"Rory…"

"Dad doesn't like seeing her with you. He doesn't like that she spent time with you in the hospital or that she ran to you when she was upset," Rory explains.

"Rory, nothing happened." He reaches out and touches her arm. "Nothing happened."

"I know," Rory replies softly. "But Mom's hurting. And you showing up just aggravates the situation." Rory presses her lips together, her eyes misty with sadness. "You need to decide if you're going to be Peter Pan, the little boy who won't grow up, or Peter Banning, the adult who has the maturity to know what's right." On that note, Rory walks away, stopping for a second by Emily's side. "I'm going to take Liam over to Grampa," she whispers to Emily before walking away. Christopher rubs his fingers over his lips as he watches Rory walk away. Then he glances over at Emily.

"You heard the girl, Christopher. Fix this," Emily says coldly and then walks away. Chris runs a hand through his hair, sighing.


	77. Chapter 77

**Luke's Diner**

The sign on the diner reads closed and the lights are off. Luke stands at the counter going through receipts, somehow able to read them in the dark, although it's also likely he's just flipping through them without reading them, finding he still can't concentrate. There's a knock on the door and Luke shakes his head, not looking up, thinking it's Lorelai. The knock repeats causing Luke to look up, deciding he'll just tell Lorelai to go away. But his visitor isn't Lorelai, it's Christopher. Luke's expression turns stony as he tries to decide what to do.

Finally, Luke walks over and opens the door. "She's not here," Luke says coldly. Christopher straightens up.

"That's fine, I came to see you," Christopher replies. Luke stares at him for a moment, checking to see if this is some kind of a joke. Chris watches Luke, a hopeful expression on his face. Finally Luke steps aside letting Christopher walk in the diner. Chris glances around as if he's never been to the diner before.

"Did I ever tell you that you remind me of Eddie Haskell?" Luke cracks as he walks back to the counter, leaving the diner door open. Christopher rolls his eyes. "You're a…" Luke pauses, looking up, thinking. "Smooth guy, that's how they call it, right? A smooth guy." Luke shakes his head.

"Look, I know we're not going to be friends, but I just wanted you to know, nothing happened between me and Lorelai," Chris says.

"I know," Luke replies.

"Well paint me confused, I thought Rory said you were angry that she had come to see me." Luke sighs.

"I know that nothing happened between you and Lorelai. It never will again," Luke repeats stoically, still flipping through the receipts.

"Then I don't get it."

"That does not surprise me," Luke responds, emphasizing the word 'that'. Christopher takes a deep breath and lets it out loudly. Luke looks up at Chris with one eye. "You've got some nerve coming here, you know that?"

"Nerve? I was trying to help, make peace between you and Lorelai! I thought I was doing you a favor."

"Yeah, right, okay," Luke grunts, going back to his work.

"Did I ever tell you that you remind me of Jethro Bodine?" Chris responds. When Luke glares at him, Chris smirks.

"Wow, I can see why Rory's glad to have you out of her life," Luke responds. Christopher narrows his eyes.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Chris says evenly. Luke puts down his work and rests both of his hands on the edge of the counter.

"Don't I? She gave you an endless supply of chances. She allowed you to come back into her life and hurt her and her mother time and time again because you were her father. Until the day you actually laid a hand on her mother, you had her. Completely. But Rory's a smart girl. She knows right from wrong. She knows that a father is someone who's always there, and you never were."

"So you thought that you would just replace me in their lives just do everything right and then they would instantly fall for you. I get it, I get it."

"No, what I did was be there for them, which is more than you ever attempted, even when you were engaged to Lorelai. I was there the day that Rory got into Chilton. I was there the day she graduated from Chilton. I was there the day she got her first A minus, the day she was sick with pneumonia and Lorelai was stuck at the inn and the day that she got her first kiss. I was there. Me." Christopher just stands there, dumbfounded. "And I was there for Lorelai. I was there the day that you destroyed her physically and emotionally."

"She forgave me," Chris responds. Luke looks at Chris like he's an idiot. He walks around the counter to stand a few feet away from Chris.

"But she never got over it. She's still hurting, deep down inside, she's still scared. And she'll never let you know it."

"She seems fine."

"Then you don't know Lorelai." Christopher scoffs.

"And I suppose you're going to tell me that you know her so well, better than someone who's been through everything with her," Chris retorts.

"I know that Lorelai's not as strong as she appears to be. It's a front she puts up. A wall. Because she wants everyone to see her as Mara Jade, but really she's human. She keeps everything inside. So what you think can't hurt her, really does," Luke informs Chris.

"It's been a year, Luke. You can stop holding it over my head. She's fine," Chris maintains.

"She's not fine and you're delusional," Luke spits back, trying to stay in control as he takes a step closer to Chris. "You hurt her. She's amazing. And you just… Sure she does stupid things sometimes but she's still wonderful. And you… you… almost…" Luke shakes his head, stopping himself a foot away from Chris. "After I picked her up from Boston that night, after she told me what happened..." Luke glares at Christopher, his eyes glittering. "I wanted to…" He takes a deep breath. "You should leave. Leave now."

"You wanted to what? I almost what, Luke?" Christopher asks, almost baiting him, still entirely lost at what Luke's been getting at this whole time. Luke quickly reaches out, grabbing Chris's neck, just under his chin.

"You could have killed her!" Luke shouts and then shakes Chris off.

"Hey!" Chris yells back when Luke removes his hand. He lunges at Luke, who is prepared and blocks Chris away, but Chris doesn't give up and lunges again. This time Luke gives in and soon there are punches being thrown and arms failing as Rory walks in the door, pushing the twins in a double stroller.

"Guys!" Rory yells. "Luke! Chris!" They don't respond. "Dad!" Suddenly the both step away from each other. They both slowly turn and look at her. "What on earth is going on here?" Luke slides a glance over at Christopher, who looks down. Chris wipes his hand past the corner of his lip and sees the blood on his hand.

"I – uh – I came to explain things to Luke, just let him know that nothing happened between me and Lorelai," Chris says. Rory raises an eyebrow, glancing at Luke, who grits his teeth and then looks down at the ground, ashamed that Rory had to witness this. "I was trying to help."

"Just get out," Luke says coldly, not even glancing at Chris as he walks behind the counter. Chris looks at Rory and then Luke.

"Okay, fine, I'll call you later, Ror," Chris says. Rory stares at him, but doesn't nod. Chris leaves. Rory looks over at Luke, who glances up at Chris as he leaves and then over at Rory.

"Are you finished, Rocky?" Rory asks Luke. He sighs.

"Sorry," Luke says. Rory shakes her head.

"He deserved it," Rory responds.

"Rory, he's still your father. I don't care if you call him Dad, I don't care if you call him at all, but he's still your father and your mother wants to you to be able to have a relationship with him if you want."

"I know." Rory fixes her hair behind her ears and smiles. "I brought the twins over." Luke walks over from behind the counter.

"Well, hey guys, did you have fun with your big sister?" Luke asks the twins, squatting in front of the stroller. He tickles Liam's stomach, bringing a smile to Liam's face. "Yeah?" He unbuckles Olivia, lifting her out of the chair. "She has her smile," Luke says softly. He looks over at Rory. "And yours."

"Dad, I know you miss her," Rory says. Luke gives her a look. "This is ridiculous, you both want to be together."

"Rory, I don't want to talk about it."

"You two are the most stubborn people I've ever met!" Rory exclaims, picking up Liam out of the stroller. She follows Luke up the back into the apartment. They put the twins in the playpen. "Dad, look at these two. Look at what you two can do together."

"Well, look what Michael Tell and Patty Duke did together and he's crazy," Luke replies. Rory rolls her eyes.

"Fine, I need to get back to Yale, I have a week more of classes before finals. I hope you two have fun being stubborn and lonely," Rory responds, throwing up her arms. She bends over the playpen. "Be good guys, make sure the spit up goes right on Mom's new pink shirt." She stands and turns to walk out and stops looking back at Luke. "All I'm saying is, you look like crap and if you look like that, you probably feel like that. And I'm not going to lie and say Mom's not feeling the same." She walks out. Luke shakes his head. He bends over the playpen.

"You two know if you spit up on that shirt, your Mom is gonna blame me," he tells them. He rubs his hand over his face. "Your sister's right, you know. I feel like crap and I miss her so much." He reaches out and cups Olivia's cheek. "And you two are so much like her." He smiles softly. "But you don't know how much it hurts when I can't trust her and how much it hurts that I know I'll never be enough for her."


	78. Chapter 78

**A Bar in Litchfield**

Sookie and Liz walk up to the front door of the bar. Sookie glances around, a little unsure. "You sure this is the place?" Sookie asks. Liz glances down at the paper in her hand and shows it to Sookie. "Okay." Liz pushes open the door letting Sookie walk in first.

"Wow, I've never been to one of these high class bars before," Liz says with awe in her voice. Sookie gives her a strange look. "You know, people are wearing shoes, I'm not sticking to the floor, and they'll actually serve a martini here."

"Oh well, we all can't get drunk in barns," Sookie replies with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So where is she?" Liz asks.

"If I was Lorelai Gilmore," Sookie begins, starting to walk away. "And I went to a bar. And got really really really wasted. So much that when I tried to call my ex-fiance, I ended up called my ex-fiance's sister. So much that I referred to myself as Lola, as in the one from Old Soho. So much that I forced my best friend to talk to a skeezy bartender in order to get her to come get me. I would be…" Sookie opens the bathroom room. "Right here." Sookie points to Lorelai, who is curled up under the sinks in the bathroom.

"I take it back, not such a high class bar," Liz jokes. They kneel down.

"Hey Sweetie," Sookie coos, brushing some of Lorelai's hair away from her face.

"Swook?" Lorelai slurs.

"Yeah, Hun, it's me," Sookie responds.

"I – I – I called – Luke – Duke – Dukey." Lorelai waves the phone in her hand that she's laying on. Sookie quickly takes the phone putting it in her purse so that Lorelai doesn't make anymore phone calls.

"Actually you called me," Liz says, reaching out and touching Lorelai's arm.

"Liz?" Lorelai asks.

"Yeah, you got the Danes part right."

"Danes," Lorelai says softly. "Duke Danes. Luke Danes. Lorelai Danes. Lola Danes. Lorelai V. Danes. Lorelai Leigh Danes," Lorelai sings. Liz giggles.

"Hey, Lorelai, Lorelai Leigh is Rory. She's not a Danes," Sookie reminds her. Lorelai giggles.

"You're so smart, Sookie Wookie." Lorelai lightly slaps Sookie on the knee. Sookie and Liz share a smile.

"Okay, let's get you off the floor," Sookie says. Liz takes Lorelai's hand and Sookie slowly pushes Lorelai up to a sitting position. Lorelai flops her hands in her lap with a sigh. Liz reaches out and brushes the hair out of Lorelai's face.

"You feeling okay, Lorelai?" Lorelai looks at Liz, blankly.

"Lorelai?" Sookie asks.

"Sookie…" Lorelai groans, her eyes glazing over.

"I'm here," Sookie promise, rubbing Lorelai's arm.

"Sookie, I screwed up. I did this. I hurt him. No more Luke. No more Luke for Lola," Lorelai says, her voice getting softer.

"It's not over, Lorelai," Liz says. "He loves you."

"No, he hates me. I'm Evita," Lorelai slurs.

"Nice topical reference you're making there," Sookie teases.

"All the guys wanted her. She slept with them all. All the guys, but all she wanted was to take over the world," Lorelai whispers. Sookie just rubs Lorelai's arm. "I don't want to take over the world. He – he thinks I want more. That I'm an Uptown Girl. I'm not." Lorelai shakes her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm not, Sookie. I love him. I love him so much."

"Oh, come here," Sookie whispers, pulling Lorelai's head to her shoulder. Liz touches Lorelai's arm in comfort. Lorelai sobs, wrapping her arms around Sookie's neck. Sookie kisses Lorelai's head. After a moment, Lorelai pulls away.

"How'd you get here?" Lorelai asks.

"You called Liz," Sookie reminds Lorelai, pointing at Liz.

"Oh…" Lorelai swallows, her face going pale again.

"You feel okay?" Sookie asks. Lorelai slowly shakes her head. Liz and Sookie help Lorelai into a stall, where Lorelai lays over the edge of the toilet.

"Noooooo" Lorelai sobs. Sookie rubs Lorelai's back.

"Just let it out, Sweetie. Let it go," Sookie tells her. Lorelai finally gives in and throws up. Liz wrinkles her nose, walking out of the stall. She stands against the sink holding her nose. Sookie smirks. "You okay?"

"That smells terrible. I swear that is one of the worst smells on earth," Liz complains.

"Just wait until you have a kid and they puke on you day after day," Sookie replies.

"Oh I have a kid. You met Jess."

"Oh…" Sookie realizes. Lorelai finishes, leaning back against the stall, her eyes closed. Sookie rips off some toilet paper, handing it to Lorelai, who wipes her mouth.

"Jess. Mess," Lorelai sings. "Told 'stopher bout the sex. The sex in the car." Liz and Sookie share a confused look. "I didn't want 'ris. Only Duke. And Luke is the best sex I ever had," Lorelai continues in her drunken slur.

"Oh, Lord," Liz groans, covering her eyes. Sookie giggles.

"Ever ever never. And I've had a lot. Lots of sex for Lorelai. Lola means sex," Lorelai sings.

"Lorelai, what did you mean about Jess?" Sookie asks. Lorelai opens up her eyes, gazing at nothing.

"He told Christopher, bout sex with Luke. That's why Chris got mad. That's why he hit me. I was bad," Lorelai whispers. Sookie's mouth drops open.

"Chris hit you? Is that why you broke up with him?" Lorelai shrugs.

"I wanted Luke. Lukey, Dukey, Wookey, Sookie." A grin spreads across Lorelai's face. Sookie glances up at Liz.

"I – I didn't know," Liz tells Sookie. "About Jess." Sookie nods.

"I'm sure he didn't mean for that to happen," Sookie responds. "I mean he's not a sadist."

"Sadie, Sadie, married lady," Lorelai sings. Sookie glances over at Lorelai and giggles.

"That's right, Lorelai. That's going to be you!"

"Always a bridesmaid, never bride. That's me," Lorelai whispers. Sookie takes Lorelai's hand and waves it in her face.

"Look at that. Look at that ring. You're getting married," Sookie insists.

"I'm getting married, you're getting married," Liz insists. "You're coming to my wedding. You'll see it then, see how much he loves you."

"We're a happy family," Lorelai sings. She frowns. "I hate Barney." Sookie and Liz giggles.

"Lorelai, are you feeling better? I'd like to get you home," Sookie asks. Lorelai nods.

"Please take me home. There's no place like home."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Lorelai's House**

Sookie and Liz help Lorelai up the stairs and lay her on the bed, where she curls up, facing the center of the bed. She reaches out an arm to Luke's side, her chin trembling as she feels the emptiness. Sookie searches Lorelai's drawers and finds a tee shirt and a pair of pj pants for Lorelai. "Here Hun," Sookie says, placing the clothes on Lorelai. "You need some help?" Lorelai shakes her head as a tear runs down her cheek. "Anything I can get you?"

"Luke," Lorelai whispers. Liz and Sookie share a look.

"I guess she can call him if she wants," Liz says. Sookie shakes her head.

"Not with the state she's in. Lorelai would hate herself when she sobers up," Sookie replies.

"But she wants to be with him."

"If she can only tell him she loves him when she's drunk, that doesn't bode well." Liz frowns and nods, understanding.

"Rory," Lorelai whispers.

"I called Rory, remember? On our way home. You told me to tell her not to come because she has finals coming up tomorrow," Sookie reminds Lorelai.

"Alone," Lorelai whispers. "But the secret is still my own and my love for you is still unknown. Alone," she sings.

"Wow, almost the same as Heart," Sookie teases. Lorelai nods. "Do you want to get changed?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"I just wanted to forget," Lorelai slurs. She rubs her face. "No more pain. No more hurt. Free Lorelai. Free. Free as a bird." Sookie crawls on the bed, sitting next to her and taking her hand.

"You don't want to forget. That's the easy way out Lorelai and that's not you," Sookie tells her. Lorelai chokes back a sob. Liz shifts nervously.

"You know, I can leave," Liz says hesitantly.

"Liz," Lorelai whispers. Taking her hand from Sookie and stretching it to Liz, who walks over and takes it. "Stay here. Please stay." Liz sits on Luke's side of the bed, holding Lorelai's hand softly between hers. She smiles to herself.

"This is nice, you know. I mean Lorelai's drunk but it's nice. I never really had any close girlfriends. There was Carrie, but she was just good when she was high," Liz recalls.

"Me neither," Lorelai agrees. "Just the boys. And Rory. Rory's my angel."

"She's a great girl," Liz responds.

"And Sookie," Lorelai adds, taking her hand from Liz and tapping Sookie. "Lie down with me Sookie."

"There's no room!"

"Oh," Lorelai realizes. She scoots to the middle of the bed, lying flat on her back. Liz and Sookie lie on either side of her in the same position. All three staring up at the ceiling. "You guys are so lucky. Sookie's got Jackson and Davey. Liz's got TJ and Jess. And I've got me. The only member of the lonely hearts club."

"And the twins," Sookie reminds her.

"My babies," Lorelai says softly.

"And Rory," Liz adds.

"My angel." A tear runs down Lorelai's cheek. "Do you remember that scene in Indecent Proposal, when David gives Diana the divorce papers?"

"Yeah…" Sookie agrees.

"Oooh, good movie," Liz adds.

"Yeah…" Lorelai says softly. "I remember when Rory and I watched that movie, it drove her crazy. She kept going on and on about how wonderful David was to Diana, how he truly loved her and he showed her over and over and she couldn't understand why John Cage had that hold on her. I mean, Diana didn't love him. But she couldn't get away from him because there was something, something about him that drew her in."

"She did love David though," Liz recalls.

"Yeah she did," Lorelai agrees. "But that scene at the auction, when he signs the divorce papers. You remember what he said?" Liz frowns, puzzles.

"He said 'I thought we were invincible. But now I know that the things that people in love do to each other, they remember. And if they stay together, it's not because they forget. It's because they forgive'," Sookie replies. Lorelai closes her eyes letting the words sink in. Sookie reaches over and takes Lorelai's hand and squeezes it. Lorelai takes Liz's hand in her other hand.

"Thank you for staying," Lorelai says softly to both of them.


	79. Chapter 79

**Chris's Condo in Boston**

Rory walks up to the door. She stands in front willing herself to make a move. Finally she bangs on the door and then quickly folds her arms over her chest. "Be right there!" she hears Christopher yell. Rory rolls her eyes glancing around. She's never really visited Chris's place so she's just taking in the scenery. Finally the door opens. "Rory," Chris says in shock.

"Hi," Rory responds, nervously tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Uh, come in." Chris motions her inside with his hand. Rory takes a deep breath walking past Chris inside. Chris pauses, taking a moment to hope that it's good that she came. Then he closes the door and turns around. Rory has walked into his living room and is glancing through his CDs. "I got the new Sparks CD. Your mother was really happy about it. Maybe you could take it and burn it for her." Chris walks into the living room. Rory picks up the CD, pursing her lips. Then she sets it down and turns to face Chris, glaring at him.

"Why do you keep doing this?" she asks coldly.

"Doing what?" Rory huffs.

"You know what I mean!" she cries, throwing her arms in the air. Chris shakes his head slowly. "You just keep showing up. You just keep trying to get in good with Mom. To fix things." Chris sighs.

"Rory, I screwed up. I know I did. That's why I want to fix things. I want to make up for what I did," Chris attempts to explain.

"You can't make up for that!" Rory exclaims, shaking her hands and looking at him like he's an idiot. Chris looks crestfallen.

"Rory, I don't understand how you can get over your mother cheating on me like that but I'm in the doghouse for the rest of my life." Rory shrugs.

"For one thing, she's my mother," Rory responds.

"So? I'm your father," Chris reminds her.

"Not much of one," Rory mutters. Chris put his hands on his hips.

"And Luke's a better one? Remember he was the one that your mother cheated on me with."

"I know. I heard the story. But Luke never hurt my mother. He never hit her. He never slapped her. He never shoved her against a wall by her throat almost choking her to death," Rory spits out. Chris's mouth drops open, as if he's amazed that Rory knows the entire story.

"Rory, I was drunk," Chris responds.

"Stop making excuses!" Rory shouts. "Mom can make all the excuses she wants, it happened to her. If that's the only way she can bring herself to forgive and try to get me to forgive then fine. I don't agree with it, but it's her choice. But you can't be using it as an excuse."

"Rory, it's the truth." Rory covers her ears with her hands and screams. Chris raises his eyebrows, having never seen this side of Rory. "Rory!" Rory glares at him. She reaches in her purse and extracts the series of pictures she found in Lorelai's old room in the Gilmore mansion of Lorelai and Chris mugging for the camera in '83. Making sure that Christopher knows exactly the pictures she's holding, Rory blatantly rips the strip in half long ways, letting the pieces flutter to the floor. Christopher stares down at the pieces in shock.

"Why do I even bother? Why do I try to come here to beg you stay away from Mom? Why would I ever think you would listen?" Rory wonders. "You say you want to be my father. You say you want to fix our relationship and then you go to the diner and pick a fight with my dad."

"I didn't go there to act out West Side Story. I…" Chris gives a defeated sigh. He looks down at the ground, trying to figure out what to do. "When you walked away after yelling at me at the memorial service, Emily told me to fix it. So I went there to tell him that nothing happened between me and Lorelai. She showed up here all upset and I just let her calm down for a bit. I gave her some coffee. It's not like I slipped her a roofie."

"And did you really think that was going to help things? My dad hates you. You hurt Mom. He had to come here and get her that night. He had to pick up the pieces. He had to try to mend what you broke. What, did you think that he would just listen to what you had to say and all would be well? You're like Daniel Cleaver picking a fight with Darcy just so he could be with the only woman he thought he had a chance with."

"I wasn't trying to get her back. I have a girlfriend, Rory. I was just trying to help," Chris insists. Rory folds her arms over her chest.

"Well stop. Just stop. Mom's better off not having you in her life at all than receiving even a bit of help from you." Chris stares at her. "The less you're in her life, the more likely she can finally get over what you did." Chris scratches her head, looking really befuddled.

"I don't get it. She came here of her own accord when she was going through her post-partum depression. That fact that she came here at all surprised me. But she told me again and again that she had gotten over it." Chris shrugs. "I just thought she had." Rory shakes her head.

"She's not over it. She's never gotten over it. If you were surprised that she hid the fact she had post-partum depression for all those years, then you don't really know Mom. She keeps everything inside. Mom just wants people to believe that nothing can hurt her, that she's invincible. And she almost is. She's the strongest person I've ever known. Pippi can lift a horse but Lorelai Gilmore can move mountains," Rory says. Chris chuckles.

"Now that I know. That's what always impressed me about your mother," Chris recalls smiling to herself.

"So every time she gets hurt, she just tucks it away inside. When you left her when I was a baby. When her parents told her she was throwing her life away. When I was 6 and yelled at her that I wanted a normal childhood with a home she couldn't afford and nice clothes that she couldn't afford and a bike that she really couldn't afford. When you hurt her. Each time she just made a little space in her heart and put it away in there and it's collected and she's hurting. Mom's hurting so much that she doesn't even know it and she doesn't remember why because she never learned how to deal with it. She thought that if you just ignore it, move on, then all her problems, all the pain, would just go away. It's childish, I know, but who was going to teach her anything else?"

"Who taught you?" Chris responds. Rory shrugs.

"I don't really know. Molly Ringwald?" Chris chuckles through the tension in the room. Rory gives him a slight smile. "I've never been strong like Mom. I wasn't built like that."

"Yeah, me neither," Chris agrees. Rory gazes at Chris for a moment, understanding what he's saying. She looks down. Chris grimaces. "So, Ror, is she still hurting?" Rory looks up at him and nods.

"Yeah, she is," Rory admits.

"If it's been going on that long, how's it ever going to change?" Chris wonders.

"She's starting to open up, I think. Dad does something for her. He's her Warren Justice. When she feels the world's coming apart at the seams, he's there," Rory tells Chris.

"I thought they were broken up," Chris notes. Rory looks away, sadly.

"Yeah," she whispers. She glances over at the CDs, fiddling with them for a moment. "I tried to fix that. I'm not sure what's going to work, but something will. Liam and Olivia need them together." Rory smiles to herself. "Mom and Dad need Mom and Dad to be together." She glances over at Chris.

"Well, what Lorelai wants, Lorelai gets. So if that's what she wants…" Rory nods. She almost turns to leave but then picks up the Sparks CD, biting her lower lip.

"I don't want to walk out of here and never see you again," Rory admits, glancing up at Chris. He raises an eyebrow. "You'll never be my dad. Once Mom and Dad get back together, I'll finally have a family, but I can't just ignore you."

"So what are you saying Rory?"

"Just give me a little time," she responds.

"And then..." Rory shrugs.

"We'll see." Chris shoves his hands in his pockets, wanting more of a promise out of Rory, but knowing that's the best offer he's gotten from her in a long time. "Just leave Mom alone." Chris nods.

"I will," Chris promises. "I guess I never realized…" Chris shrugs and Rory gets his meaning.

"Yeah…" Rory looks back down at the CD and then back at Chris. "Can I copy this?" Chris grins.

"Yeah and make a copy for your mom. You don't have to tell her who it's from," Chris replies. Rory nods.

"Okay. Well I better be getting back to Yale," Rory decides. As she walks away, Rory pauses at the door and looks back at Chris. "I'll call you sometime."

"I can't wait," Chris answers, giving her a smile. Rory nods and walks out.


	80. Chapter 80

**Liz's Wedding**

Luke is in his apartment getting ready. He glances back and forth between two ties. Finally, he puts the blue one on and then rips it off putting on the black one. "You should wear the red one," Luke hears from behind him. He glances over and sees Jess standing there, his hands shoved in his pockets. Luke gives him a hard look. "Ma said I could find you here." Luke doesn't respond. Jess shrugs. "I – I just wanted to – I don't know – apologize – or something."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Luke states. Jess presses his lips together, nodding.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna – uh – apologize to her – to Lorelai – later," Jess stammers. Luke watches him for a moment. "I didn't mean to – I wasn't thinking. I just, I thought he should know." Jess scoffs. "I guess I didn't realize he was cracked."

"He's not crazy, Jess," Luke responds. Jess raises an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? The worms already came?" The corners of Luke's mouth turn up slightly as he does his best not to smile. Jess smirks and then sobers. "But really. I know I'm not Lorelai's biggest fan, but she didn't deserve that. No one deserves that. No guy should touch a woman like that." Luke nods.

"You're right about that one," Luke agrees. Jess nods.

"Anyways, I just figured. I thought I'd tell ya that. You know, as long as I'm here," Jess says, shrugging. Luke puts the ties down, picking up the red one. Then he looks back at Jess.

"You know, your mom thinks that you're gonna be all right," Luke tells him. Jess raises an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? And what do you think?" Jess asks. Luke puts the tie on, considering his words.

"I think only you know the answer to that," Luke responds.

"Well, that's fair."

"But Lorelai says you don't have to forget to forgive. So I may not ever forget what you did, but I can forgive you and move on," Luke says. He takes a deep breath. "Lorelai says you have to be able to move on," he remembers. "So I forgive you Jess. It's in the past. And I want you to know that. And I want you to know that I'm still your uncle, you know, if you ever need anybody, even if it's just a guy to talk to or a bed to sleep on. I'm always here." Jess nods. He walks over to Luke and they share a manly hug.

"Thanks," Jess says, almost gratefully. Luke nods. "Ma also said to tell you that she invited Lorelai. She says to tell you that you need this." Luke rubs his mouth. Jess stares at him. "You threw me out for her." Jess chuckles. "Twice, if I remember correctly." Luke nods. "Okay, so I'll…" Jess points his thumb at the door.

"I'll see ya out there," Luke responds. Jess nods. He walks out. Luke watches him leave, twisting his lips around. Then he turns back to the mirror looking at the red tie and adjusting it again. He sighs, running a hand through his hair.

As he walks through the diner, Luke calls to Caesar to watch over the place for him while he's gone. Luke steps out the door, looking complete disgusted with the renaissance themed scene in front of him. "Jeez," he grumbles, scratching his head. Glancing down the street towards Ms. Patty's, he sees Lorelai walking towards him in her pink, flowery dress, looking absolutely incredible as usual. Lorelai stops in front of him.

"Hi," she says softly. Luke nods. She glances over at the town center. "Quite a scene."

"Yeah, you could say that," Luke grunts. Lorelai peeks a look over at him as he's staring out and then looks away just as he glances at her. Lorelai looks back at him, catching his eyes this time. She presses her lips together, looking almost timid.

"Liz invited me," Lorelai tells him. She shrugs. "She really wanted me to come. So… I came." Luke nods.

"It's good. It's good you came," Luke responds.

"Good." Lorelai looks away, twisting her hands together nervously.

"Where are the kids?" Luke asks. Lorelai looks back up at him.

"Oh, uh, they're with… uh… Clara, Dean's sister. She's watching them," Lorelai remembers. "I told her it would only be a few hours, Clara's still too young to watch them for a long time. But she brought a friend with her, so there's two of them, should be easy."

"Oh yeah, Liam and Olivia are pretty easy kids when you've got two people taking care of them," Luke agrees and then looks away, realizing what he may have inferred. Lorelai looks away too, frustrated with the tension that remains between the two of them.

"Lorelai!" Patty calls, walking over to them. "Hey Lorelai, Liz is having some trouble, I think she ripped her dress. Do you think you can help?" Lorelai smiles.

"Only if you've got a needle and thread," Lorelai responds. Patty breathes a sigh of relief.

"You truly are a savior, come on," Patty says, motioning for Lorelai to follow her. Lorelai glances back at Luke.

"I'll, uh, catch you later," Lorelai manages. Luke nods shortly. Lorelai walks away from him, letting out the deep breath she'd been holding. Luke watches her walk away, sighing.

Lorelai fixes the wedding dress and then wedding goes on as planned. Only Lorelai sits next to Patty at the wedding and Luke sits next to April, with Anna on her other side. They steal glances at each other the entire time during the ceremony, always glancing away quickly to make sure they don't get caught. But Liz and TJ are wed and happy.

After the wedding, they all attend the reception. Lorelai is at the buffet getting food when Jess walks up to her. She glances over at him, her mouth parting slightly, as her eyes narrow slightly, almost like she's considering how to respond. Then she goes back to scooping out redskin potatoes onto her plate. "Lorelai," Jess says. She glances back at him, setting down the serving spoon, waiting for him to continue. "Can I, uh, talk to you?" he asks, motioning with his head for them to step away from the crowd. Lorelai slowly draws in a breath, straightening herself up and nods.

"All right," she responds, motioning for him to lead. They walk a little ways away towards the sidewalk. Luke, who is the middle of a conversation with Liz, glances over and sees them. He nods to himself and then goes back to talking. Jess stops and turns around, shoving his hands once again in his pockets.

"I just wanted to…" Jess sighs. "I wanted to apologize, for, you know, telling Rory's dad." Lorelai raises an eyebrow in surprise. "It wasn't my place to… I shouldn't have butted in. I made a promise to you that I wouldn't tell anyone and I should have kept that." Lorelai studies him, not quite believing what she's hearing.

"Yes, you should have," Lorelai responds. She glances over at Luke and then back and Jess. "But I want you to know, I don't hold you responsible for what happened." Jess nods.

"Yeah… thanks." There's a moment of uncomfortable silence. "You know, you didn't deserve that. No matter what you and Luke did. You didn't deserve that." Lorelai's expression softens as she considers his words. "So don't… don't blame yourself either." Lorelai looks conflicted, running her tongue between her lips. Jess shrugs.

"Yeah…" Lorelai considers.

"And I didn't mean to hurt Rory either. I would never have hurt Rory," Jess states. Lorelai looks up, almost surprised to hear him mention Rory.

"I know that," she replies. Jess smiles slightly and nods. "You know, Liz thinks you're going to turn out all right." Jess raises an eyebrow.

"And what do you think?" Jess asks. Lorelai glances over at Luke, a soft smile on her face.

"If you're anything like your uncle, you'll be fine. But only you can determine that," she answers. Jess chuckles.

"You know, I think he thinks that you don't consider me turning out to be like him a good thing," Jess tells her. Lorelai glances back at Luke one more time. "I think he thinks you can do better than him." Lorelai looks saddened at this idea. She looks back at Jess.

"Well that is entirely untrue," Lorelai states. Jess shrugs.

"I just call it like I see it." Lorelai nods. "Anyways, those turkey legs are really calling my name, so I'm gonna go get me one of them."

"Okay," Lorelai responds. She smiles slightly. "See you around Jess."

"See ya around," Jess agrees, before walking away. Lorelai stares at the diner, pondering her next move.

"Hey Lorelai, come sit with me before Mom and I have to leave," April requests coming over to her. Lorelai smiles brightly.

"Okay, sounds good to me," Lorelai agrees. She takes April's hand as April leads her over to the table where Anna sits waiting for them. Luke, who has now stopped talking to Liz, watches Lorelai, April and Anna for a moment. Just seeing how the three women in his life interact and pleased at how well Lorelai gets along with April. He takes a deep breath and walks over to TJ and Liz's table and sits down to finish eating.

Awhile later, April and Anna have said their goodbyes to Lorelai, Liz and Luke and left. The dancing has begun and Kirk announces that it is time for Liz and TJ's first dance. TJ leads Liz out onto the dance floor as Lorelai nervously walks up to stand next to Luke.

_Now that I've worn out, I've worn out the world  
I'm on my knees in fascination  
Looking through the night  
And the moon's never seen me before  
But I'm reflecting light_

"She looks so happy," Lorelai says softly. Luke smiles, nodding.

"Yeah she does. Possibly happier than with any of her 18 million other husbands," Luke agrees. Lorelai laughs. He glances over at her. "Did you like the turkey legs?" Lorelai raises an eyebrow, surprised at his ease of conversation.

"Yes, actually, they were amazing," she responds.

"They should be, I made them," Luke says proudly.

"Well then my compliments to the chef." Luke nods.

_I wrote the pain down  
Got off and looked up  
Looked into your eyes  
The lost open windows  
All around  
My dark heart lit up the skies_

Kirk announces that the happy couple invites others to join in on the dance. Lorelai glances at Luke, wanting to ask, but afraid at his answer. "Well I should, I haven't had any dessert…" she says lamely, pointing with her thumb back at her table. Luke raises an eyebrow.

"Well if you don't mind putting that off for a moment…" Luke trails off. Lorelai looks up at him, waiting for him to finish. Luke shrugs. "We could dance." Lorelai smiles softly.

"Still taking lessons from Tony?" Lorelai teases. Luke grins.

"I taught Tony everything he knows," Luke boasts. Lorelai chuckles. Luke offers Lorelai his hand and she pauses, staring at it a moment, before hesitantly placing her hand in his. Lightly holding onto Lorelai's hand, Luke leads her out onto the dance floor.

_And now that I've worn, I've worn out the world  
I'm on my knees in fascination  
Looking through the night  
And the moon's never seen me before  
But I'm reflecting light_

Keeping a distance between them, Lorelai places her hand on Luke's shoulders and he puts his on her waist, clasping their hands as they begin to waltz. "I forgot how good you were at this," Lorelai says to him. Luke cocks his head.

"Well it does take practice to make it perfect," Luke tells her. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"And who have you been practicing with Luke Danes?" Lorelai teases. Luke grins.

"A little girl named Olivia," Luke replies. Lorelai lets in a small breath as she's reminded what a great father Luke is. "Sometimes when Olivia has trouble falling asleep, I hold her in my arms and I put on that song we danced to, you remember it?"

"I remember it," Lorelai answers quickly. Luke nods.

"When Hearts Collide," he recalls. "I put it on and I hold her in my arms and we dance."

"You should have told me," Lorelai says. Luke furrows his eyebrows.

"Why?" he asks.

"Because, then I would have practiced with Liam," she responds with a wink. "You want your son to know how to dance too, don't you?"

_Give up the ground  
Under your feet  
Hold on to nothing for good  
Turn and run at the mean times  
Chasing you  
Stand alone and misunderstood_

Luke and Lorelai adjust their dance position. Lorelai sliding her arm around his neck. Luke lets his hand travel to Lorelai's lower back, pulling her a little closer. Both of them remembering how wonderful it feels to be in the other's arms. "That was a beautiful song," Lorelai says.

"Yeah…" Luke responds. "Yeah. It was."

"It's about what happens when two people find each other and the struggles they go through to be together because they know they belong together," Lorelai says. Luke stares at her. She smiles nervously. "At least, that's what I think."

"That's what I think too," Luke agrees. "It's what happens what two people fall in love and their hearts become one heart." Lorelai stares at him, letting his words in. She runs her tongue between her lips. And Luke waits, but Lorelai says nothing in response.

_And now that I've worn, I've worn out the world  
I'm on my knees in fascination  
Looking through the night  
And the moon's never seen me before  
But I'm reflecting light_

Dancing close together, barely an inch between them, Lorelai's chin almost rests on Luke's shoulder. His breath against her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Feeling her cheek against his, Luke's pulse beats faster. And slowly they both turn to look at each other. Their eyes locking as her clear blue matches his deep blue. Tilting her head slightly, Lorelai slowly moves her head towards his, lightly touching his lips with hers as the song ends.

But in the silence, Luke suddenly goes cold, dropping his hands and stepping back away from Lorelai. She stares at him in surprise with pain resonating from her eyes. "What? What did I do?" she gasps. Luke runs a hand through his hair.

"You didn't – you didn't do anything," he mumbles, realizing that this is exactly the problem. Lorelai's eyes fill with tears as she wonders if he'll ever want to be with her again.

"But Luke, I…" Lorelai swallows hard. "Don't you remember the last time we danced? You told me you knew me. Did you forget that?" Luke clears his throat.

"No," he responds, with a shake of his head. "No, I didn't forget."

"But it's not true, you don't know me."

"I do Lorelai. I know you. But I can't take the chance, I can't let my heart… I can't…" He flings his hands out, not looking at her. Lorelai's chin trembles as she tries to remain strong, trying to keep him from seeing how much he's hurting her. "I've been hurt too many times by you," Luke says coldly and walks away.

"Luke," Lorelai gasps, pressing her lips together, her chin trembling as a tear trails down her cheek. "I didn't get to say…" she says to the wind. "I didn't get to tell you I love you. That you're all I want." She closes her eyes, trying to gather herself together. Taking a deep breath, Lorelai slowly turns to walk home, back to her house to be with Liam and Olivia.


	81. Chapter 81

**Friday Night Dinner**

Rory pulls up the car in front of the Gilmore mansion. She was moving a few boxes home to try to begin her move home from Yale and managed to get to Stars Hallow in time to pick up Lorelai and the twins. They quickly unpacked Rory's car and hooked the two car seats into the car and surprisingly only arrived a few minutes late. Both Gilmores get out of the car, each opening a back door to pick up a twin. "You want Liam or Olivia?" Rory asks. Lorelai purses her lips trying to decide. "Or do you want to flip a coin?" Lorelai looks at Rory like she's crazy.

"We're not flipping a coin over my kids!" Lorelai exclaims. Rory shrugs.

"Well then, which is your favorite?" Rory asks. Lorelai's mouth drops open.

"I don't have a favorite!" Lorelai squeals. Rory laughs, knowing she was just baiting her mother. Lorelai gives Rory the evil eye.

"You're a devil child." Rory shrugs like she doesn't care.

"If I am, I got it from my mother," Rory responds. Lorelai shakes her head looking back at the twins.

"Well I'll just go with the lazy excuse and take Liam because he's closer to me," Lorelai decides.

"I figured you would say that." They both take the twins in their arms and walk over to the front door.

"Okay, remember our agreement? Nothing about Luke or the fact that he's not here. And nothing about the trial run of the inn," Lorelai reminds Rory, who smirks.

"Okay, first, do you really think they're not going to notice that Luke's not here, I mean it's pretty obvious?" Lorelai shrugs.

"It's possible."

"Oh yeah. And they already know about the trial run coming up, you mentioned it a few weeks ago when you were trying to get Gramma off your back about flinging a lima bean across the table," Rory comments. Lorelai gasps.

"It slipped!" Lorelai insists. Rory giggles. Lorelai grimaces. "Okay, well, let's just…" She reaches out and rings the doorbell.

"Hey, did we ever decide if we're going to ask Gramma about living at the hotel?" Rory asks. Lorelai's eyes go wide.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because, I don't know, it would be weird," Lorelai responds.

"Like it's not weird enough that they're not living in the same house and trying to get us to believe they are!" The door opens and Lorelai and Rory quiet. "Fine, you win," Rory mutters walking inside.

"I can take your coats," the maid offers. Lorelai and Rory share a look.

"Umm… we're not wearing any coats," Lorelai tells the maid, looking at her like she's out of her mind. The maid just stares at her.

"But I'm supposed to ask…" The maid looks down nervously. Rory's eyes go wide, but Lorelai just smiles. She touches the maid's shoulder.

"Don't worry, you did fine. I'll give them a good report," Lorelai promises her. The maid gives Lorelai a slight smile and scampers off. "It just gets weirder and weirder," Lorelai mutters. Rory giggles. They walk into the living room where Emily sits on the sofa, a glass of wine in her hand, staring off in the opposite direction of Richard, who stands by the minibar. "Hi Dad, Mom."

"Oh Lorelai, Rory, we didn't even hear you come in," Emily greets them standing up.

"Well I drugged the twins so they wouldn't cry," Lorelai replies. Emily gasps. Lorelai rolls her eyes. "I'm kidding, Mom." She shakes her head. "Man, that didn't even work when Rory was little." Emily gives Lorelai a look.

"So, how is the end of your first year?" Emily asks Rory.

"It's all right, I did pretty well," Rory responds.

"Of course you did, Gilmores always excel at Yale," Richard beams. Rory blushes.

"Yes, of course," Rory responds, bashfully.

"Lorelai, wine?" Richard offers. Lorelai glances at Liam squirming in her arms.

"Well I… no I'm fine," Lorelai responds, knowing she can't carry both and preferring to keep Liam safely in her arms. Lorelai and Rory walk over and sit on the couch opposite Emily. "So, Mom, how is that thing you and Dad are going to next weekend?" Emily shoots Lorelai a puzzled look.

"What thing?" Emily asks.

"Oh, uh… you know… the thing… with the people… and the dresses…" Lorelai attempts, trying to get something out of her parents. Emily raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, that thing," Emily responds with a slight smirk.

"Your mother and I don't have a thing this next weekend," Richard tells Lorelai, apparently not getting that Lorelai was making it up.

"Oh." Lorelai blushes.

"Unless, of course, you're inviting us to that trial run you've got going on," Emily recalls. Lorelai's mouth drops open as she glances at Rory, who shrugs.

"Sure, would you like to come?" Lorelai offers, forcing a smile. Emily arches her eyebrow.

"You're really inviting me to Stars Hallow?" Emily asks.

"Sure, you. And Dad, of course. I could get you two the best room possible," Lorelai responds, recovering quickly.

"Well I'm not sure I…" Richard tries.

"Oh Dad, I would really appreciate it if you both could come. It would mean so much to me and Sookie to get your support for all the hard work we've put into the place," Lorelai probes. Emily lowers her eyes, glancing slightly over at Richard, who is also looking down. She looks back up at Lorelai.

"We would be happy to go," Emily says evenly. Lorelai grins at Rory, who shakes her head. "Will Luke be going?" Emily asks as Lorelai's face falls. Rory watches Lorelai, trying to figure out how to help her mom. Lorelai swallows, her throat suddenly dry.

"I… um… I" Lorelai stammers. Emily watches her carefully. The maid walks in.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gilmore you have a phone call," she says and quickly runs out of sight.

"Excuse me," Richard says, thankful to leave the room. Lorelai watches him go, almost wishing she had an excuse to leave.

"Lorelai, where is Luke tonight?" Emily inquires. Lorelai presses her lips together, her sad eyes looking away.

"He had something to be at," Rory lies. Emily raises an eyebrow.

"Really?" Emily asks in disbelief.

"No, Mom, Rory's lying for me," Lorelai admits. She sighs. "Luke didn't have a thing. He didn't come because he… because…" Lorelai rubs her forehead, trying to find the words to explain what's going on.

"You're still wearing your engagement ring Lorelai," Emily reminds her. Lorelai glances down at the ring on her finger, playing with it lightly with her thumb. She runs her other hand over the back of Liam's head, leaning down and kissing the top of his head.

"Yes, I am," Lorelai murmurs. Emily studies Lorelai for a moment. Rory glances at Lorelai and then turns Olivia around to face her, making faces at her little sister.

"Are you all right Lorelai?" Emily asks. Lorelai glances up at Emily with a poker face.

"Of course, why do you ask?" Lorelai responds quickly.

"Lorelai, I saw your argument at Trix's memorial. And I can see you're keeping something inside now. After all, I am your mother," Emily reminds her.

"Since when?" Lorelai mutters.

"Excuse me?" Emily asks, snidely. Lorelai sighs.

"It's just that… you only want to be my mother at certain times. When you think that there's a chance you can drag me back into your world," Lorelai explains. Emily puts her glass of wine down.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Lorelai. I'm not sure how this can change things, but I would like to be your mother. I'd like you to be able to open up to me and not always keep me at arms length."

"Like Suyuan and June Woo, we come from two different worlds," Lorelai replies. "I can't understand yours and you can't understand mine."

"Well, then give me a chance," Emily requests. Rory glances over at Lorelai, wondering what Lorelai's going to do. Lorelai looks over at Olivia, wondering what her relationship with her younger daughter will be like years from then, since this time they're more than 16 years apart. And she decides to take a chance.

"I haven't told Luke I love him," Lorelai says.

"And do you?" Emily asks carefully.

"Of course!" Lorelai responds quickly. She sighs and nods. "I do. I really love him."

"Then why…?"

"Because I was scared. But I'm not anymore. When you put up a glass wall, it keeps you from getting hurt but it also keeps you from getting touched. It's a risk. 'Someday you're gonna have to come up with the courage to admit you care'," Lorelai expresses. Rory smiles softly, recalling Lorelai's anecdote.

"Yes, that's true," Emily agrees. "But you haven't told him?" Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, I…" She touches her fingers to her mouth, sniffing, trying not to cry. "No, he hasn't given me a chance. He just gets angry. He…" Lorelai closes her eyes, remembering their dance at Liz's wedding. She sniffs. "He thinks I want more than him. He thinks he's not good enough for me." Lorelai opens her eyes and stares at Emily. "And I know that's what you think, but I…" Emily sighs.

"No, and I know that's what you would like to believe, that I disapprove of everything in your life, but it's not true. It's not true at all Lorelai," Emily tells her.

"But you were so horrible to him. You look down at him," Lorelai contends. Emily nods.

"Yes, but if you love him, if you truly think he's the one for you, then he is. And I'll learn to be okay with that. Because, after all, I'm your mother, and all I want is for you to be happy." Lorelai glances around.

"Seriously, someone pinch me. I think I've entered the twilight zone," Lorelai says. Rory rolls her eyes.

"I always thought that eventually you would realize that the life your father and I can offer you is the only thing that will make you happy, but I suppose at some point I have to let that idea go," Emily states. Lorelai looks puzzled. Richard walks in.

"Come on, dinner's on the table," he says. Rory glances up at him and back at her mother and grandmother, who are staring at each other.

"Mom?" Rory says. Lorelai glances over at her.

"Oh yeah, we should," Lorelai realizes. "We have to get home before the twins's bedtime." Lorelai stands, glancing back down at Emily. "I… thank you… for listening…" Lorelai shakes her head, confused, and walks into the dining room carrying Liam, with Richard following her. Rory and Emily stand.

"Did you really mean that?" Rory asks Emily.

"Whether or not I meant it isn't the point, Rory my dear," Emily replies and walks into the dining room. Rory glances down at Olivia.

"Just once I'd like to not go to dinner with the Carringtons," she mutters and then carries Olivia into the dining room.


	82. Chapter 82

**Luke's Diner**

The diner is in slowing down for the mid-afternoon lull as Kirk walks in. "I don't even want to hear it," Luke grumbles at him. Kirk looks at him in shock.

"What? I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to, you're Kirk," Luke reasons. He gives Kirk a pointed look and Kirk walks over to a table by the window and sits down. Luke picks up a sponge and starts wiping down the table. He notices Kirk staring at him, his hands folded in front of him on the table. Luke sighs. "Can I get you something, Kirk?"

"Yeah, how much would it cost to have about a thousand orders of fries?" Kirk asks. Luke huffs, his left hand going to his hip as he stares at Kirk and blatantly blinks. Kirk looks back. "I'm sorry, are we having a staring contest? I wasn't ready, let's start again." Luke shakes his head.

"No Kirk, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," Luke replies.

"You ask a simple question…" Luke raises an eyebrow, looking at Kirk like he's crazy.

"How much a thousand orders of fries cost?" Luke repeats in disbelief.

"Right, that's what I asked. I don't mean exactly a thousand, you know, plus or minus a few orders," Kirk explains innocently.

"Kirk!" Luke shouts. Kirk sits up straight. Luke takes a few menacing steps towards Kirk. "I swear, if you don't stop yanking my chain…" Luke's pointing at Kirk, shaking his finger as he speaks.

"No, Luke I really want to know." Luke straightens up.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Luke shrugs.

"Then just multiply the amount on the menu by a thousand. Or if you're really stuck, move the decimal point over three spots to the right," Luke explains logically.

"You stopped giving me menus a year ago when I tried to make adjustments to your menu," Kirk reminds him.

"That's because you took all the menus and used a permanent marker to cross out celery under the listing of ingredients for my tuna on rye."

"Well I'm allergic to celery and I like to order the tuna on rye," Kirk answers.

"Kirk, if my memory serves me correctly, you have never once ordered the tuna on rye from me," Luke responds walking back to finish wiping down the table.

"Not from you, but from other places, places that don't include the celery. You know, I'm allergic to celery," Kirk informs Luke, who glances up at Kirk.

"Yeah, I got that memo," Luke grunts. Then he shakes his head and goes back to wiping.

"Luke, you never gave me a menu," Kirk reminds him. Without looking up, Luke points at the pile of menus on the counter. Kirk slowly gets up from his chair, tiptoes over to the menus, picks one up and tiptoes back to his seat.

"Kirk!" Luke shouts. Kirk stops in his tracks, right as he's about to sit back down. "Stop pretending you're Jerry." Keeping eyes on Luke, Kirk slowly slides in the chair. Luke rolls his eyes and walks behind the counter, setting the sponge down.

"It says here a plate of fries costs 95 cents," Kirk reads. Luke throws a hand in the air.

"If that's what it says."

"So then a thousand orders would be…" Kirk looks up, using his finger to move the decimal point in the air.

"Nine hundred fifty dollars, it would cost nine hundred and fifty dollars, Kirk," Luke answers for him. Kirk nods.

"Yeah that's what I got too," Kirk agrees.

"Shocking," Luke deadpans, his eyes wide. He walks over and shakes the ketchup and mustard on each table. Pausing after the third table, Luke glances over at Kirk, who is staring at the menu. "Was there a reason for that diatribe?" Luke asks.

"Oh yeah, Taylor wants to fix the Stars Hallow sign," Kirk answers. Luke furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"The Stars Hallow sign?" Luke repeats dumbfounded.

"Yeah, that blue and white rectangular thing that when read lets the person know he or she is entering the fine town of Stars Hallow," Kirk responds pointing at the sign in the center of town. Luke rolls his eyes and goes back to shaking the condiments bottles, seeing if they're all full. As he walks past the door, he stops and stares outside. Emily is standing a few feet from the door, staring back in, as if trying to make up her mind about whether or not she wants to go in. After watching her for a moment, Luke looks back at Kirk.

"So tell me Kirk, what does Taylor want changed?" Luke asks, walking over and sitting down across the table from Kirk. A small smile comes over Kirk's face as Luke, for once, shows interest in his activities.

"He wants a more accurate number of Stars Hallow residents," Kirk says. "Back when the sign was made, they exaggerated the number of people living here. There's no facts to prove that 9,973 people ever lived here at one time. Back then, small towns were known as hick places where people lived with their car ports and guns on the wall. But small towns are in now and Taylor wants to cash in," he explains as Emily walks in.

"Find a seat, I'll be with you in a moment," Luke says over his shoulder, not even turning around to see who it is. Emily arches an eyebrow. Kirk gives her a timid look and looks down at the menu like a scared little kid. But she acquiesces and takes a seat in a chair at a table across the room, pausing to wipe it off before she sits. Luke stares at Kirk. "So, go on, tell me more," Luke presses, leaning in to deeply converse with Kirk, who is unsure of how to respond to Luke's unusual moves.

"Okay…" Kirk undecidedly agrees. "Well I was thinking we could put signs up around town, offering free fries, tallying the number of people who show up." Luke folds his arms across his chest, pretending to be interested.

"I'm surprised you can make any money to support my grandchildren with the service you provide here, Luke," Emily snaps from across the room. Luke shrugs his shoulders, letting her words fall around him as he ignores her.

"And how would you afford this?' Luke questions Kirk.

"Oh, well Taylor offered me a thousand dollars to do this job for him, so if I bought the fries, I'd make fifty dollars," Kirk responds.

"And then you could afford that visit to the nuthouse we've all been pushing for?"

"Actually, I was going to put it into the savings account I set up so that I can eventually buy Lulu an engagement ring. I found a bank that gives you almost 6.5 interest."

"Well, at least someone treats their girlfriends nicely," Emily declares. Luke looks at her over his shoulder.

"Can I get you something Mrs. Gilmore?" Luke asks snidely. Emily arches an eyebrow again.

"Mrs. Gilmore? You haven't called me Mrs. Gilmore in almost a year now Luke," Emily reminds him. Luke presses his lips together, unsure of how to respond. "Why don't you come over here so we can chat and I can leave you to your stubbornness?" Luke looks back at Kirk.

"Hey Kirk, you ever thought of going to door to door instead? Would save you a lot of money. Course, I'm not going to tell you what to do, not everyone in the world is like that," Luke says to Kirk, but loud enough that Emily could hear. Kirk looks confused. "Keep thinking." Luke taps the table. He gets up and walks over to where Emily is sitting.

"Sit down, Luke, we need to talk," Emily commands. Luke hesitates for only a moment before sitting down. "I don't know what you think of me Luke, and I probably don't want to know, but know for sure I do love my daughter." Luke folds his hands on the table, keeping silent. "Do you remember that time you came to dinner? The first time you came to dinner. You told me to give my daughter a chance." Luke nods slowly.

"Yeah, I remember that," Luke responds.

"I'm giving her that chance. The chance to prove to me that she'll be just as happy living her life her way instead of my way. I may not be happy about, but it's what she wants. And what she wants is you. So I'm telling you, Luke…" Emily pauses, presses her lips together in a very Lorelai-like way. "I'm asking you, to also give her a chance. Just one. Just a chance." Luke leans back, thinking things over. "While you consider my request, let me ask you this. When my daughter was at dinner last week, she told me you think she wants more than you, that you're not good enough for her, is that true?"

"Isn't that what you think?" Luke retorts. Emily shakes her head.

"That's not what matters. It doesn't matter what I think, it's what Lorelai thinks. Do you really believe deep down that you're not good enough for her?" Luke opens his mouth to respond and the closing it, considering his words.

"I'm just a fool to believe I am anything she needs," Luke replies. Emily studies Luke, as if reforming her original opinion of the man. "Emily, your daughter is the most amazing woman I've ever met. She's smart. She's beautiful. She goes after what she wants. She has crazy ideas and half the time she follows through with them, which seems to work out well for her, although often not so well for me. She likes to joke but she also doesn't mind a serious conversation. She's the mother of my children, at least my youngest children. She's the only one I could see myself committing to spend the rest of my life with. And I love her."

"So why…." Luke shrugs.

"Because I'm none of those things," Luke answers.

"She's not Helen of Troy, Luke," Emily responds.

"But, to me, she is." Emily blinks. "To the world she may be only one person." Luke shrugs, letting the rest of the phase go, but Emily hears the end of the quote in her mind.

"If she's that to you, how do you know that you're not the same to her?" Emily asks. Luke looks up sharply.

"Did she say something to you?" Luke asks.

"It doesn't matter what she's said to me, give her a chance and you'll hear for yourself what she has to say," Emily responds.

"You're doing this because I told you to give her a chance?" Luke wonders. Emily purses her lips and then picks up her purse and stands.

"Sometimes when one isn't happy with one's own relationship, she tries to make others happy in theirs," Emily replies. Luke furrows his eyebrows, completely lost. Emily turns to walk out and glances at Kirk. "Have you ever heard of the census?" she asks Kirk, who looks bewildered by this inquiry. Emily looks back at Luke, picking a piece of paper out of her purse. "Did you get one of these?"

"An invitation to the trial run of the Dragonfly?" Luke asks. Emily nods.

"I got one, I'm taking Lulu," Kirk calls, but they ignore him.

"Yes, I did. It was shoved under my door a few mornings ago," Luke replies. Emily nods.

"Well, hopefully I'll see you then," Emily says. She nods to Kirk and walks out. Luke grudgingly stands and walks over to the bulletin board, looking at the invitation he has tacked up there.

"A census…" Kirk mumbles to himself. He glances up at Luke. "Are you going to go?" Luke shrugs. He glances over at Kirk.

"Kirk, how about we make a deal? I'll help you with the sign if you do something for me."


	83. Chapter 83

**Dragonfly Inn**

The opening of the inn has gone much like it did on the show, minus the Luke stuff. He hasn't shown up yet and therefore Lorelai never walked into a door or any of that. Oh, and Jason never showed up because I never put him in the story. But Rory still almost kissed Dean. Emily and Richard were still put in the honeymoon suite, as I am still having them separate. Don't worry, I'm definitely not planning a Luke/Lorelai fight at the vow renewal. Sookie's still worried about hiring too many members of the kitchen staff and Michel is still trying to bring Pau-Pau and Chin-Chin. I'm going to take out the stuff with Kirk's night terrors because, though funny, it's not going to fit in the story.

Lorelai is walking around checking on people as the meal's coming to an end. Luke still hasn't shown up. She stops by Rory and Jackson's table to compliment Jackson on his new shirt and then sees Kirk waving her over to the table. "Hey Kirk, you waved?" Lorelai asks, walking over to Kirk and Lulu's table.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you have plans for this evening?" Kirk asks. Lorelai glances around at the dining room and then back at Kirk, giving him a strange look.

"Well I have an inn opening up so I think we'll have to save our date for another time Kirk," Lorelai responds.

"Lorelai!" Kirk whines, motioning wildly with his head at Lulu. Lorelai grins.

"Lulu, I think Kirk is trying to warn you that his head may fall off tonight," Lorelai jokes.

"I was wondering if you have plans for the guests once dinner is over," Kirk says.

"Oh, well I was going to welcome everyone, but then you are free to move about the cabin," Lorelai replies.

"There's a cabin? Is it log? You know, I always heard that Lincoln grew up in a log cabin, which surprises me because they're not known to be tall structures. I'm surprised Lincoln didn't hit his head more often," Kirk says. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, a thought that has often puzzled me in my free time," Lorelai murmurs. Lulu grins.

"Actually, Morey and I were wondering if we could play the piano in the other room," Kirk requests.

"Oh." Lorelai glances over at the piano. "Well that's fine Kirk, the piano is meant to be played."

"I just wasn't sure if you already had some music picked out, I didn't want to be a bother."

"Well, you are the guests. So I guess I'm just going to have put my Snoop Dogg away," Lorelai quips.

"Oh, well if you already had something planned… it's fine." Lorelai laughs. She pats his shoulder.

"I think she was joking Kirk," Lulu whispers over the table.

"Oh," Kirk realizes, glancing at Lorelai, his eyes raised. "Good one." Lorelai raises her eyebrows, trying not to laugh and nods.

"He's a keeper," Lulu says sincerely.

"Oh definitely," Lorelai sarcastically agrees. "I'll be back." She pats Lulu's arm and walks through the parlor, just checking on everything. Emily walks through the front door.

"Lorelai!" Emily exclaims. Lorelai walks over to Emily.

"What?"

"Are you kidding me with this? Making your father and I stay in that separate room?" Emily asks. Lorelai puts on an innocent act.

"What do you mean? It's our honeymoon suite."

"It's cold and it's cramped. And it's completely shut off from everything going on here. It's not enjoyable," Emily contends. Lorelai folds her arms over her chest.

"Mom, it's our honeymoon suite, it's supposed to be separate from everything. That's what makes it romantic. It's booked solid for the next year. And it's not cramped it's cozy. And it's not cold, just the people in it are," Lorelai responds. Emily arches an eyebrow.

"Well I hate it," Emily retorts. "I want a room in here."

"There aren't any rooms here. Every one of them is taken, that way we can tell how we would run the inn at full occupancy."

"Well then I'm leaving!"

"Mom!" Lorelai exclaims, shocked. "I thought you came for me, to show your support."

"Well I'll just have to show my support from Hartford," Emily snaps. Lorelai cocks her head, giving Emily a look.

"Mom, I don't understand…"

"Oh Lorelai, you can stop the Sandra Dee act. You know your father and I aren't getting along right now. We wanted to come and show our support but I just can't take it in there with him anymore!" Richard walks in.

"We'll be packed and ready to go within ten minutes," Richard tells Emily. Lorelai furrows her eyebrows.

"Well, you're in here, how is your stuff getting packed up?" Lorelai asks.

"Some of your help is doing that for us," Richard replies. Lorelai throws her hands in the air.

"Dad! This is the Dragonfly Inn not the Ritz Carlton, my help isn't paid to help you pack!" Lorelai exclaims. Richard doesn't seem bothered.

"Well for right now, they are," Richard states firmly. Lorelai shakes her head, not really wanting to deal with this. She glances over at the dining room and sees Sookie motioning at her from the kitchen.

"Let me go get Rory, she'll want to say goodbye," Lorelai says, defeated. She slowly turns and walks into the dinning room, where she watches Sookie's signs. Lorelai nods to her. She picks up a water glass off the table and clinks a fork against it getting everyone's attention.

As everyone turns to look at Lorelai, she smiles brightly. "Hey everyone. I just wanted to take this moment and thank you for joining us tonight for our trial run. I really appreciate it. Don't forget to fill out the comment cards in your rooms. I want all your compliments and criticisms, but please try to make them constructive." She shoots a hard look at Taylor. "And now since dinner is over, Kirk and Morey have requested to play some music for us in the parlor. You can go in there or there are board games or you can request a DVD from our staff. We're here to serve you, so feel free to ask for anything you need." Morey glances at his watch.

"Umm… can we do this in about ten minutes?" Morey asks. Lorelai looks at him strangely. Morey shares a look with Kirk. "No… it's fine." Lorelai sizes him up but then turns her attentions back to everyone else.

"Okay, so once again thank you and please, have the time of your life," Lorelai says loudly. Everyone begins to get up and mill around as Lorelai walks over to Rory. Putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder, Lorelai leans over to whisper in her ear. "Hey, your grandparents want to say goodbye." Rory gives Lorelai a curious look. Lorelai motions at the front hall where Emily and Richard are standing looking quite cross. Rory sighs. She stands and follows Lorelai over to Emily and Richard.

Morey sits down at the piano, Kirk next to him as they begin to play and sing 'While I Go Walking' as they had at Sookie's wedding.

"Are you really going to leave right now?" Rory asks sadly.

"Honey, we have to," Emily replies, shooting Lorelai a cold glance. Lorelai sighs.

"How about if you stay tonight, Rory and I will go to lunch with you tomorrow?" Lorelai suggests, against her wishes. Emily and Richard share a look.

"This, after you lied to us and tricked us?" Emily responds.

"Hello, pot…" Lorelai retorts, motioning at Emily with her hand.

"Oh please, Gramma," Rory begs sweetly. Emily shakes her head.

"I'm sorry, but we can't," Emily insists. She glances at Richard. "Are we almost ready to go?"

"Just a few minutes more," Richard answers, glancing at his watch. "They said ten minutes." Emily huffs, folding her arms over her chest. Lorelai rolls her eyes. She walks away over to the archway between the front hall and the parlor. She leans against the archway, listening to Kirk, staring off into space.

"That was a dedication for a Sookie in honor of her wedding anniversary," Kirk says in his announcer's voice when the song ends. Sookie squeezes Jackson's hand smiling. "Next we would like to play a selection dedicated to another member of the Dragonfly staff." Lorelai, who thinks it must be someone else, arches her eyebrow as the first chords of Jim Brickman's _Love Of My Life_ play.

_I am amazed  
When I look at you  
I see you smiling back at me  
It's like all my dreams come true _

Lorelai smiles to herself, thinking about things, remembering times past. Closing her eyes, she can still see Luke's face the day he asked her to marry him.

_I am afraid  
If I lost you girl  
I'd fall through the cracks  
And lose my track in this crazy lonely world  
_

Lorelai opens her eyes, glancing at the ring glittering on her finger. She notices Sookie motioning to her, pointing at Rory. Lorelai looks over at Rory, who motions with her eyes over to the door. And there, in the doorway, stands Luke, holding a bouquet of violets in his hands. They share an intense gaze, both frozen in place and time, as if they are the only people left in the world.

_  
Sometimes it's so hard to believe  
When the nights can be so long  
And faith gave me the strength  
That kept me holding on_

Luke slowly walks over to Lorelai, who stands up, no longer leaning against the wall. She's staring deep in to his eyes. "Here," he says gruffly, in his warm gruff voice. Lorelai looks at the flowers and slowly reaches out and takes them. "I know that lilies are your favorite, but these called out to me."

"Violets are for faithfulness," Lorelai says hoarsely. Luke glances at the flowers and then back at Lorelai. She shrugs. "At least, that's what Ophelia said."

"That's not why I got them," Luke tells her. Lorelai looks up at him.

"Where are the twins?"

"With April and Clara, they're fine." Lorelai looks back at the flowers, breathing in their sweet scent. Lorelai looks back up at Luke and throws her arms around his neck.

"Thank you," she whispers in his ear. He wraps his arms around her, holding her close, his face in her hair, Lorelai's beautiful aroma no longer just a memory to him.

_You are the love of my life  
And I'm so glad you found me  
You are the love of my life  
Baby put your arms around me  
I guess this is how it feels  
When you finally find something real  
My angel in the night  
You are my love  
The love of my life  
_

Luke slowly pulls back to look into her eyes. "Will you dance with me?" he asks, both still oblivious to those standing around watching them. Lorelai pauses, deep in thought, giving him a timid look. "Please?" Lorelai nods.

"That's how you win the girls," she teases softly. Luke takes her hand warmly in his as she lays one hand on his shoulder and his other grasps her waist. And slowly they begin to dance to the music. Though a distance apart, neither one seeks to break the gaze between them.

_Now here you are  
With midnight closing in  
You take my hand as our shadows dance  
With moonlight on your skin_

"What made you come tonight?" Lorelai wonders. Luke smiles to himself.

"Our kids," he responds. Lorelai raises an eyebrow, waiting for his explanation. "When I was holding them today. Their eyes. Their smiles. They're both of us. They're what we can do together." Lorelai smiles, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"That's what I told Rory," she responds. "Nice choice in song by the way." Luke chuckles.

"You told me once that when we are together, you felt like you were living in a Jim Brickman song, you remember?" Lorelai nods. "Well I just wanted to make that dream come true."

_  
I look in your eyes  
I'm lost inside your kiss  
I think if I'd never met you  
About all the things I'd miss_

"I want to make all your dreams come true, Lorelai, for the rest of your life," Luke adds, in his thick husky voice. Lorelai beams.

"You already have. I have you. I have Rory and April and the twins. But you being here, you wanting to be with me, it's all I've wanted," Lorelai tells him seriously, working herself into what she really wants to say.

"You want to try something?" Luke asks, his eyes glittering mischievously. Lorelai cocks her head, looking slightly worried.

"Dirty," is all she whispers. Luke winks. He lifts his hand twirls her away from her and pulls her back to him to the beat of the music. Lorelai laughs as she wraps her arm back around him. Luke grins, his lower hand traveling to her lower back.

_Sometimes it's so hard to believe  
when a love can be so strong  
and faith gave me the strength  
and kept me holding on  
_

Lorelai lays her head on Luke's shoulder as they dance. The fingers of their clasped hands interlacing. Luke's other arm pulls her closer to him, as close as they can get. Both listening to the words of the music, moving to the soft melody, feeling the warmth of their bodies touching, the love flowing between them.

_You are the love of my life  
And I'm so glad you found me  
You are the love of my life  
Baby put your arms around me  
I guess this is how it feels  
When you finally find something real  
My angel in the night  
You are my love  
The love of my life_

Lorelai leans back and looks deep into Luke's eyes, searching for the strength he gives her. Tilting her head, she lightly brushes her lips against his. Moving her head so that her lips are right next to his ear, Lorelai whispers, "I love you." She turns her face and kisses his cheek. Then she pulls her face back to look into his eyes again. "I love you," she repeats huskily. Luke leans in capturing her lips with his.

_My angel in the night_

_You are my love_

_The love of my life_

As the song ends, Luke breaks the soft kiss. "I love you too, Lorelai," he answers as a smile spreads across her face. The hand she had on his upper back, moves to brace the back of his head as she pulls his face to hers. Touching her lips to his, softly at first and then more insistent. She slightly parts her lips as Luke runs his tongue over her lower lip. He parts his lips to her tongue, gently massaging hers with his, his hand pressing deep into her lower back. But finally they pull back, each breathless and blushing.

"Let's go upstairs," Luke whispers. Lorelai's eyes widen. She glances around at the guests watching them, her face getting redder. She drops her head to his chest, leaning against Luke in embarrassment. Luke's hand slowly rubs circles on Lorelai's back as he grins.

"Go ahead," Sookie says. "We've got things under control here." Lorelai glances over at Sookie and mouths her thanks. She peeks over Luke's shoulder at Rory, who winks back. Then Lorelai moves her eyes to Luke's, finding him watching her. She nods.

"Good," he says softly. Quickly wrapping an arm under Lorelai's knees, Luke lifts her into his arms. Lorelai laughs.

"You crazy man!" she screeches in enjoyment. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Lorelai shakes her head at him. "I love you."

Luke dips his head down, giving her a quick kiss. "I love you too." Looking back up the stairs, so that he doesn't fall, Luke carries Lorelai up to the room so they can celebrate alone.


	84. Chapter 84

**Luke and Lorelai's Room in the Dragonfly**

Later that night, Lorelai and Luke are curled up in bed together. Lorelai is lying in the crook of Luke's arm, her left arm thrown over Luke's prone body. Her face nuzzles the curve of his neck. Luke's right arm lays almost right over Lorelai's left, his hand tracing circles on her bare left shoulder. His left hand lies lightly, almost protectively on Lorelai's hip. Both equally happy, enjoying the warmth of being wrapped up in each other's arms after all this time.

"Couldn't find a boombox?" Lorelai teases. Luke smiles slightly, turning his head slightly to kiss her forehead.

"Actually I have one, I just left my Peter Gabriel at our house," Luke replies. Lorelai glances up to find Luke looking back down at her, his eyes dancing. She shakes her head grinning. Luke moves his hand off of her shoulder to tip her chin up, lightly pressing his lips to hers. "You are letting me move back in, right?" Lorelai shrugs.

"I dunno, what's in it for me?" Lorelai asks, half-serious.

"Well to start, a whole lot more of this," he responds, raising an eyebrow suggestively, his hand goes back to tracing circles on her shoulder.

"Exercise?" Lorelai asks teasingly.

"Sexual exercise," Luke replies with a wink.

"Ah, I stand corrected." Lorelai lays her head back down on his shoulder. "You know, I hate exercise."

"Yes, but you need it." Lorelai looks up at him, pouting. "You can't eat crap for the rest of your life and expect it not to catch up with you."

"Will you still love me when I get fat?" Lorelai asks.

"How fat are we talking?" Lorelai wrinkles her nose thinking it over.

"I don't know, Kirstie Alley fat. Would you still love me?" Lorelai repeats the question. Luke grins.

"Lorelai, nothing you could do could make me love you less," Luke answers. Lorelai lays her head back down, pleased with his answer. Luke kisses her forehead again. They both settle back into their silent enjoyment of lying together. "Lorelai?" Luke asks softly, rubbing her arm to see if she's still awake.

"Yeah?" she answers without moving her head.

"I'm sorry," he says humbly. Lorelai smiles to herself. "I was stupid. I was crazy think that…" He sighs. She taps her left hand on his chest comfortingly, tipping her head up to lay a small kiss on his jawbone.

"It's okay. So you got a little green, it's okay. It happens," Lorelai tells him.

"I wasn't jealous, Lorelai. I was… I don't know…" He furrows his eyebrows, puzzled. Lorelai traces a pattern on his chest with her finger, waiting for the completion of his sentence.

"You don't like Christopher," Lorelai says knowingly. Luke chuckles.

"That is a fact." He shakes his head smiling.

"What?" Lorelai glances up at him, noticing a pause in his voice. Luke grimaces.

"I should probably tell you I got in a fight with Christopher," Luke says. Lorelai smirks.

"Like a we wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley kind of fight?" Luke shrugs again, squeezing her hip. "Luke, you know you could take Christopher, right?" Luke glances down at her.

"You think?" Lorelai nods.

"Oh yeah, definitely. When we were little I used to beat him up all the time. He'd go home with black eyes and tell his mom that Joe Connors did it," Lorelai says. She giggles. "Man, poor Joe, I wonder if he ever got ungrounded. And I wonder if he ever figured out why he was always grounded." Lorelai grins, watching Luke's eyes dance with wonder.

"Well I think I got the best of him too, if I remember correctly his lip was bleeding and swollen when he left the diner."

"The diner? What was Christopher doing in the diner?" Lorelai wonders.

"He came to talk to me. He wanted to inform me that nothing happened between the two of you," Luke says. Lorelai raises an eyebrow, her fingers pausing their movement on Luke's chest. "I told him I already knew that. I did. It was just… it all seemed so familiar. They way we are, the way it happened with Christopher. I just got… I don't know…"

"You wanted me to tell you I love you. You wanted me to tell you why I chose you and not Christopher, even back then, in the truck, in the snow. I chose you. And you thought it might have just been proximity that brought us together," Lorelai answers for him. Pushing herself up with her right hand so that she can look directly into Luke's eyes. "But the answer is that I love you and I never loved him, I never loved anyone else but you." Luke gazes into her eyes as if he can look deep inside her, past the blueness of her irises, and see what's really inside.

"I love you too," he says softly. Taking his hand off of her hip, Luke gently cradles the back of Lorelai's head, pulling her lips to his, letting his fingers weave through her dark locks. Lorelai reaches up, taking her hand off of his chest, running her fingers over the stubble of his cheek as she presses her lips harder to his. Slowly her tongue searches his bottom lip, running over it, teasing him until he opens his mouth. Luke's tongue invades Lorelai's mouth, their tongues gently massaging each other, his right hand moving down from her shoulder to her lower back, pressing her against him.

Breathless, Lorelai pulls back, her cheeks flushed. Her eyes still closed. Her head cloudy. "Lorelai, I want you to be able to open up to me," Luke says gently. Lorelai slowly opens her eyes letting them search his. She sits back, wrapping the blanket around her, still in the crook of his arm, his left hand back on her hip. Lorelai sets her hands on her knees.

"I'm sorry, I thought I just did," Lorelai responds lightly. Luke chuckles, tapping his hand on her hip. Then he grimaces, giving her an inquisitive look.

"I've told you before, I hate that you hold it all inside. This Christopher thing, my loathing of him, is not because you were once engaged to him or because you had a child with him. I hate what he did to you," Luke says softly and gently. Lorelai shrugs.

"It was a long time ago," she responds.

"It wasn't that long ago," Luke contends. Lorelai gives him a sad look. "When I found you that night, out on Chris's steps. You looked… broken… shattered." Lorelai looks away, not wanting to deal with this. "But when you looked at me. I've never seen a pretty girl look so tough."

"Yeah, I know, I've got the look," Lorelai quips softly, glancing over and winking at him. Luke nods.

"You've got that down. That strong, independent, woman of steel look," Luke tells her. Taking his hand off her hip, Luke reaches up and cups her face, then lets his fingers slide down her throat to her collarbone. "And I want you to know you don't have to be that person around me. You can tear down that wall."

"Thank you Ronnie Reagan," Lorelai teases. She smiles slightly, trying to dispel the tension she's feeling. But Luke can see right through her. Lorelai looks away.

"You've never gotten over it."

"What?" Lorelai asks. Luke gives her a knowing look. Lorelai stares back, pressing her lips together. Luke moves his hand from her collarbone to her arm and rubs her arm gently.

"You remember that when we fought and I touched your arms that you called me Christopher?" Lorelai nods. "You remember that when we fought you suggested that I hit you?" Lorelai nods again. "You're not in physical pain anymore. Your bruises are gone, but that's not to say they're not gone from here." He touches her head. "Or here." He touches her breast bone over her heart. "Please Lorelai, let me in." Lorelai takes a deep breath.

"I don't know what to say. I'm not scared of Christopher. But at that moment, when we were fighting, I remembered it all, I lived through it all again. Every time, I just feel it all again. The fear I felt. The pain and anguish. The feelings that have no words," Lorelai says slowly. She shrugs. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I love you."

"And love means never having to say you're sorry," Lorelai quips. Luke smiles. "I love you too."

"You're in pain and you don't even know it. But anytime you want to talk, anytime you're scared, or you feel those feelings, come to me. Know that you can always come to me," Luke tells Lorelai. Instead of responding, Lorelai cups his face in her hands and leans down to press her lips to his.

"You're too good to me," she whispers, kissing him softly again. Then she sits back up.

"You don't want to celebrate again?" Luke asks, arching his eyebrow suggestively, placing his hand back on her hip. Lorelai laughs.

"I do. I really do," she answers quickly.

"So?" Luke squeezes Lorelai's hip.

"Can we… is it okay if we…I want to check on the twins," Lorelai tells Luke nervously.

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place?" He grins, tapping her hip. "Get dressed, we'll go right over."


	85. Chapter 85

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Luke and Lorelai walk into the house. "Clara! April!" Lorelai calls. When there's no response, Lorelai and Luke exchange a look. Luke motions for Lorelai to go ahead. She runs up the stairs calling for Clara and April. Luke follows closely behind her. They get to the nursery only to find it empty. Lorelai gives Luke and confused look. Luke takes her hand in his and squeezes it.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," he tells her calmly. Lorelai nods. Luke interlaces their fingers and leads Lorelai down the stairs.

"You want some coffee while we wait?" Lorelai asks, forgetting who she's talking to. Luke glances over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her. "Oh." Lorelai blushes and shakes it off. "I don't know what I was thinking. You want some warm brown water while we wait?" Luke chuckles and nods his head as they walk towards the kitchen.

"Yes, tea would be nice," he answers as Rory stumbles out of her room. Luke and Lorelai stop in their tracks. Rory reaches up with her right hand, brushing her hair out of her face. Dean walks out of the bedroom.

"Dean came over to borrow something," Rory says quickly. Lorelai's expression changes quickly from worried to confused to judging. Rory smiles nervously, glancing from Luke to Lorelai.

"Yeah, uh…" Dean stammers. He and Rory share a look. "Uh, I'll see ya." He scratches the back of his head. Rory nods uneasily. He glances at Lorelai and then walks out the back door.

"Bye," Rory says softly, turning to watch him go. She raises a hand in a half-wave, slowly bringing it down to twist with her other hand in front of her. Timidly, she looks back up at her mother. Having watched this whole thing, Lorelai stares at her daughter, sizing her up. She takes a few steps forward and glances in Rory's room, seeing the mussed bed. Lorelai takes a deep breath pursing her lips. She returns her eyes to Rory, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What did Dean come over to borrow?" Lorelai asks carefully, saying each word as if it is its own sentence. Luke watches the scene, his hands shoved in his back pockets.

"He, uh…" Rory scratches her forehead. She smiles apprehensively and shrugs.

"Rory?" Lorelai leans against the doorframe, as if patiently waiting for Rory's response.

"It's okay," Rory tells Lorelai. "I know you wanted me to talk to you about it first, but it's okay. I'm fine. He's fine. We were safe. So it's okay." Lorelai gives Rory a skeptic look.

"It's okay?" Lorelai repeats incredulously. "How is it okay?" Rory shrugs timidly. "He's married Rory."

"Not really…" Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"Not really? Did he or did he not sign a marriage license?"

"He did," Rory responds, slightly defeated.

"And did he or did he not say his vows in front of preacher at a church about five minutes from here?" Lorelai demands.

"He did." Lorelai shrugs, looking irritated.

"Then how is it okay?" Lorelai wonders. Rory shrugs.

"Because…" Lorelai arches an eyebrow.

"That's not an answer, Rory. I know you thought things through at least a little, I know you that much, you're not The Woman In White," Lorelai responds. Rory sighs dejectedly.

"It's not working. Their marriage. It's not working out for Dean," Rory tries to explain.

"It's not working out for Dean? What about Lindsey?"

"She… he… he said it was over," Rory recalls.

"Over? Like they've signed the divorce papers, he's moving out, she's begging for alimony and their home in Malibu type of over?" Lorelai challenges. Rory looks away. "Rory?"

"I don't know," Rory replies softly. "He just said it was over. They're not happy. He's not happy. He said it wasn't working out."

"But they're still married." Rory looks up at Lorelai though misty eyes.

"But aren't you happy that it was with Dean? Someone who's nice and good and loves me?"

"Those are none of the words I would use for him right now," Lorelai snaps. "No matter what you claim, he cheated, Rory."

"Yeah, but he…"

"He cheated," Lorelai repeats insistently. Rory sighs.

"You did too. You cheated on Chris with Dad," Rory reminds her, motioning to Luke with her hand. And all Luke wants to do is sink into the floor.

"Yeah, Rory, you're right, I did. And I paid for it," Lorelai spits back. Rory looks down at the ground apologetically. Lorelai seethes. "But I was 34 years old. I wasn't 18. It wasn't my first time. And Chris and I weren't married."

"You were engaged," Rory mumbles.

"Rory, I know you know it was wrong. You're so guilty you can't even say her name. You know this wasn't right," Lorelai insists. Rory glares at her.

"No, I'm happy. I'm glad it was now. I'm glad it was with Dean. You're just mad that I didn't include you in my decision making. You're mad that by me doing this, I'm not your little girl anymore. You don't like that I'm growing up. Well, I am and I have and you're just going to have to deal with that," Rory snaps. Lorelai gives Rory a pointed look.

"Rory, you know you shouldn't have done this," Lorelai repeats. Rory shakes her head.

"I hate you," Rory spits out. "And I hate you for ruining this for me," she shouts, running out the front door, slamming it behind her. Lorelai closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. She looks over at Luke, who's watching her.

Luke reaches out his hands to Lorelai and she walks over forlornly. Luke wraps his arms around her and Lorelai wraps hers around him, laying her head on his shoulder. "You okay?" he asks softly. Lorelai nods, holding on tightly.

"Thank you," she whispers.

"For what?" Luke wonders.

"For being here," Lorelai replies. She leans back looking up at him sadly. "I shouldn't have done it that way."

"Well, you were right. He is married," Luke reminds her. Lorelai nods, looking away, folding her arms over her chest. Luke still has his hands on her back.

"I know. But we were always best friends first and mother and daughter later. I skipped the first step. I launched right into mother mode and that's not what I should have done," Lorelai says. Luke doesn't know what to say, so he just hugs her tightly. Lorelai rests her chin on his shoulder, thinking. "Was it that horrible what we did?" she asks Luke. He sighs.

"You weren't married," Luke reminds her.

"I know…" Lorelai sighs. "She needs her best friend now." Slowly Lorelai wriggles out of Luke's arms. "I'm gonna go do that." She motions with her head towards the door. Luke nods. Lorelai touches his chin lightly, giving Luke a quick kiss. He smiles softly.

Lorelai walks out the door, leaving it open behind her as she walks towards Rory. "Thought I'd find you here, Thelma," Lorelai jokes, trying to decrease the tension between them. Rory is crouches over on the stairs, crying into her hands. "Hey, Ror, let's try this again. You wanna be Laverne or Shirley?"

Rory just gets up and runs past Lorelai into the house. Lorelai steps back inside as Rory's door slams. "Go away. I hate you!" Rory screams. Lorelai looks down biting her lip. Closing the door again, Lorelai shares a look with Luke. She walks over to him.

"Will you be my friend at least?" Lorelai begs. Luke reaches up, running his fingers over her cheek.

"Always," he responds.

"Thanks," Lorelai whispers. She leans in and kisses him. Then she pulls back and glances around.

"What do you want to do?" Luke asks. Lorelai glances at Rory's door sadly.

"Let's…" She shrugs. "Let's just go back." Luke nods.

"Okay," he agrees, reaching up and rubbing her arm. He drifts his hand down to her hand, taking it. They walk outside to find Clara and April pushing the stroller up to the porch. April grins when she sees them.

"Did it work?" she asks Luke, who nods. "You got back together?"

"You better start looking for junior bridesmaid dresses," Lorelai squeals.

"Yeah!" April screams. She runs up the porch steps. Both Luke and Lorelai bend down as April throws her arms around both of their necks. Luke and Lorelai each wrap an arm around April, hugging her to them. "I'm so happy!" she exclaims. Lorelai smiles down at her. She glances at Luke, who winks at her.

"He agreed to change diapers for a month," Lorelai says. Luke wrinkles his nose, shaking his head. Lorelai laughs.

"Actually, he told me he'll never pull a Mr. Mom again," April tells Lorelai, giggling. She walks back down the porch steps over to the stroller.

"Do you want to put them to bed or should we?" Clara asks. Luke glances at Lorelai, who smiles softly.

"Well, I…" she trails off, glancing at Luke to get his approval. "I think we'd like to." Clara motions for her to go ahead. Luke and Lorelai walk down the steps, both leaning over and unstrapping a kid. Lorelai holds Olivia to her, kissing her daughter's cheek. "Hi Sweetie, hi," she coos, kissing Olivia's head a few times. Luke ruffles the few hairs on Liam's head.

"We'll be back," Luke says over his shoulder to Clara and April as he follows Lorelai up the stairs and back into the house. They walk up the stairs and into the nursery. "You're going to change them, right?" Luke asks uncertainly. Lorelai smiles.

"Yeah, I'm gonna keep trying for that Guinness record," she jokes, laying Olivia on the changing table. As Lorelai changes both diapers, Luke gets out sleepwear for both kids and puts them into that. "This is nice," Lorelai comments. Luke glances over at her as she finishes with Olivia. "You know, both of us here. The Danes family. Or one soon-to-be Danes." She wriggles the fingers of her left hand at him.

"We might have taken a few turns but we got here. Hey, we took the road less traveled," Luke figures. Lorelai picks up Olivia to put her in her crib as Luke finishes dressing Liam. She leans over and kisses Luke softly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." They smile at each other, both basking in their newfound happiness. Luke kisses her again as he picks up Liam. They both set their twins down in his or her crib. Luke squeezes Liam's foot.

"Stay strong, Kiddo," Luke tells Liam, as always. He walks over to Olivia's crib, standing behind Lorelai who's staring down at her daughter.

"It's going to be different this time," Lorelai says softly, meaning her mother-daughter relationship. She glances over her shoulder at Luke, who nods. Lorelai looks back Olivia. She touches her fingers to her lips and then touches them to Olivia's forehead. She turns to walk over to Liam's crib, Luke grabbing her hand on the way. He gives her a settling look and Lorelai nods. Luke returns his attentions to his daughter.

"Sweet dreams, Baby Girl,' he says softly, reaching in and brushing Olivia's hand with his fingers. He walks to the doorway and pauses, turning around to wait for Lorelai. She stands at Liam's crib, touching her fingers to her lips and placing them on Liam's head.

Turning to walk out of the room, Lorelai looks up to see Luke standing there. He reaches out a hand to her and she places hers in his. "Look at this," she whispers, choked up. They both glance around the nursery. "Look at all we have."

"What we have is each other," Luke tells Lorelai. She grins, her eyes glittering.

"As long as we've got each other," she sings. Luke tries not to smile, rolling his eyes. "We've got the world spinning right in our hands, Baby you and me," Lorelai continues singing. Seeing Luke's semi-annoyed face, Lorelai laughs. "Oh, I forgot to turn on the CD," she realizes, getting the approval from Luke. He nods. As Lorelai walks over to turn on the CD player, Luke lightly taps her butt, causing Lorelai to let out a yelp and a laugh. "Okay, boyfriend, let's go." She turns on the Bono CD and motions for him to lead down the stairs.

They walk down the stairs to find April and Clara settling themselves in sleeping bags on the living room floor. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to, I think Rory's staying the night," Luke tells them. April and Clara share a look. He sighs. Lorelai smiles, knowingly.

"You guys have fun. April, you know where the snacks are when you get hungry," Lorelai tells them. April nods. "Eat as much as you want."

"But not so much that I'll never be allowed to see you again," Luke adds. April giggles. Lorelai shakes her head.

"Come on," Lorelai says, taking Luke's hand. "Bye girls." She waves.

"Bye," Luke adds, waving as well.

Luke and Lorelai walk out of the house, their fingers interlacing and as they walk down the steps. Lorelai's quiet as they walk through the center of town on their way over to the Dragonfly. Luke keeps glancing at her, making sure she's still with him. He squeezes her hand. "You okay?" he asks concerned. Lorelai glances over at him, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah…" Lorelai sighs.

"You thinking about Rory?" Luke asks. Lorelai nods.

"I think I was wrong. I was wrong to play the mom card first. I never did before," Lorelai says.

"She's older now. Your arguments aren't over little things anymore, Lorelai. Sometimes you have to remind her that you're the adult in the relationship," Luke tells her. Lorelai nods, sadly. He stops, pulling her hand so she stops too. "It's going to be this way with the younger kids. We've got to be the adults. I know you love your relationship with Rory, but it's not going to be the same with Olivia and Liam. Things are different." Lorelai seems to be mulling this over and then she straightens up, preparing herself.

"So you agree with me? You think what Rory did was wrong? You'll back me up if she goes to you?" Lorelai asks. Luke nods.

"Yeah, I will," Luke responds.

"Because she might. You want to be the dad, you get to be the dad, but you have to be willing to do it all the time," Lorelai warns him. Luke slowly draws in a deep breath and then nods.

"Okay," he agrees.

"You have to agree to this. We have to be a united front. If we disagree on how to deal with the kids, they're going to be able to use that against us. So you have to back me up with anything I say to Rory, Olivia and Liam and I have to back you up on all things having to do with April, Olivia and Liam."

"I agree," Luke says. Lorelai smiles.

"So we've got that straight?"

"You bet," Luke says. Lorelai laughs. She reaches up, cupping his face in her hands and kisses him. "Okay, we'd better get back." He wraps his arm around her shoulders as Lorelai leans into him as they finish their walk back to the Dragonfly.


	86. Chapter 86

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Lorelai walks into the house, throwing her purse on the couch. Hearing her walk in, Luke walks out of the kitchen with Liam in his arms. Lorelai looks defeated as she stares at him, her hands going to her hips. Luke gives her a concerned look. "Rory's gone," Lorelai says. Luke furrows his eyebrows confused.

"Gone?" he asks.

"She went to Europe with my mother," Lorelai informs him with an odd little smirk on her face.

"Europe with Emily?" Luke repeats with a disgusted look on his face. "Wow." He raises his eyebrows. "How did that happen?" Lorelai thinks about that for a moment and then realizes.

"I think I had something to do with it." Luke looks confused. He sighs, setting Liam down in the playpen with Olivia. He walks over and takes Lorelai's hand, leading her to the couch where they sit facing each other.

"Explain this to me," Luke requests.

"Well, my mother showed up for lunch today, even though I told her that she could only have lunch with me and Rory if she stayed last night. But in the end, I gave in because I really didn't feel up to fighting with her today." Lorelai shrugs.

"Understandable."

"Yeah, so during lunch Evil Knievel jumped right past asking me and invited Rory to go to Europe with her. You see, she wants to get away from my dad and who would be better to accompany her on her escape than her granddaughter? That way she can take Rory away from her overbearing mother so that she can make her into the newest member of the DAR," Lorelai rants, her hands moving wildly.

"And Rory just said yes?" Luke asks, a little surprised. Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, I told her to go," Lorelai states. Luke looks at her like she's crazy.

"You. You told her to go. I'm sorry, I think I missed the part when you lost your mind." Lorelai snorts.

"For a moment it seemed like a good idea. Get her away from here."

"Get her away from Dean." Lorelai stares at him a moment and shrugs.

"Yeah." Luke nods.

"Okay. I get that," Luke figures. "So you knew that she wouldn't say no?" Lorelai nods.

"She's Ado Annie. She hasn't changed. She thinks she grew up overnight, that she matured just by making the decision to sleep with Dean on her own, but we both know that's not true. She'll never grow up until she can learn to make decisions on her own and not have people push her into things."

"You think Dean pushed her into it?" Luke asks, concerned. Lorelai shakes her head.

"No. But she didn't think things through. Remember this is the girl who made lists and lists before she chose her college. An important decision, yes, but this was important too and she just went into it without thinking."

"Sometimes love'll do that to you," Luke comments. Lorelai raises an eyebrow. Luke grins. He leans over to her, cupping her cheek with his hand and kisses her intensely. Then pulls back. "Your head clear?" Lorelai shakes her head, her eyes still closed as the fog in her head dissipates.

"So you're okay with it? This whole Rory sleeping with Dean thing, you're fine with it?" Lorelai asks.

"Hell no I'm not fine with it!" Luke exclaims. Lorelai grins.

"Ah that's the Luke I know and love." Luke sighs.

"So how long is she going to be gone?" Luke asks.

"Eight weeks, the whole summer. I just dropped them off at the airport."

"Your mother couldn't just have one of her drivers do it?" Lorelai laughs.

"My mother doesn't have a driver, it's the one task she does on her own. Amazing, but true," Lorelai says. She looks away. "And now she's gone, the whole summer." Lorelai looks back at Luke, gently playing with his fingers. "We had it all planned out, the whole summer. We were going to try to get Pete to put chocolate sauce on our pizza. We were going to invent a word and try to get it put in the dictionary. We were going to have a Hepburn marathon."

"Katherine or Audrey?" Luke interrupts to ask.

"Both, actually. Audrey first, then Katherine. Gotta save the best for last, we're much more Katherine fans." Luke nods. "And we were going to take the twins up to the playground at the elementary school and introduce them to the slide." Luke glances over at the twins in the playpen.

"I think they would have liked that," Luke says. Lorelai smiles softly.

"Yeah… I remember Rory's first slide. It was the same one. I had moved to town the week before and I decided to walk around, check out the town, pushing Rory's stroller with me the whole way. And I ran into Patty, who told me about the playground. I can still hear her laughter as I held her in my arms and slid down the slide. Her sweet giggle. You know, the first time, she held onto me so tight, like I was her protector. I was supposed to keep her safe." Luke squeezes Lorelai's hand as she closes her eyes, picturing that day. She slowly opens her eyes, pressing her lips together.

"She'll come around Lorelai," Luke tells her. He reaches out and tips her chin up so she'll look at him.

"I know," she whispers, looking back at Luke. "You have no idea how much I wanted to just give in. But I had to stand my ground, I have to be the mother. Sometimes mother knows best." Luke nods.

"She knows. She'll come around," Luke repeats. Lorelai sighs, glancing over at the twins.

"Let's talk about something else. Something happier. What's going on with you?" Luke chuckles, and then sobers.

"Here's some interesting news, Liz and TJ bought a place in Stars Hallow." Lorelai raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really?" She watches Luke's annoyed expression. "Luke, you should be happy about this, your sister's moving back to town."

"Oh yeah, can't you tell, I'm like Charlie finding that stupid gold ticket," Luke responds sarcastically. Lorelai grins.

"Luke, I think Liz is great. And I think it's sweet that she wants to live closer to you."

"Have you ever had a sister?" Luke asks.

"Well, no, of course not. I think when I was little, I asked for a sibling for Christmas," Lorelai recalls. She chuckles. "Can you imagine that?"

"You mean another you? I don't think that would be such a bad thing," Luke considers. Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, not another me. Rory's accomplished that. I mean my parents, having a kid. I mean another one. Sometimes I wonder why they procreated at all."

"You know they love you." Lorelai shrugs. "Well I do. And I'm glad they procreated, otherwise I'd have no you." Lorelai smiles softly.

"Well I, for one, am happy that Liz is moving to Stars Hallow. You know, when I was drunk on the floor of the bathroom at the bar…"

"Wait, what?" Luke interrupts. Lorelai giggles, waving it off with a hand.

"It was while we were broken up, you see what you make me do?" Lorelai winks as Luke looks horrified. "Anyways, Liz was there for me. Sookie too. They reminded me that you loved me. They got me through it. They reminded me that you asked me to marry you." Lorelai smiles at the memory, or least, what she can remember of it. She glances down at the ring on her finger.

"I did ask you to marry me. And I notice you never took off the ring," Luke notes, taking her hand in his, playing with the ring on her finger.

"I couldn't." She shrugs.

"Well then that's something we can do this summer. Something to take your mind off of whatever. We need to get planning for this wedding or we won't be getting married until the twins are able to walk down the aisle."

"Ah, don't say that! They're going to be cute and little forever!" Lorelai cries. Luke squeezes her hand. "Well, I'm home, you need to go close the diner?" Luke nods, standing.

"Yeah, I have get back. You'll be okay?" Lorelai nods, crossing her legs. "Okay." Luke leans down and kisses her. "I'll try to be back not so late." He kisses her again and leaves. Lorelai looks over at the twins and smiles to herself.


	87. Chapter 87

Hey guys, just a little reminder not to put spoilers in your reviews. I'm spoiler free and I'd really prefer to stay that way. Thanks.

* * *

** Luke's Diner**

Lorelai walks into the diner, her bag on one shoulder, carrying Olivia on her other hip. She glances up at Luke and smiles. He walks over to her, giving her a hello kiss. "Did you have the day off?" Luke asks as he plants a kiss on Olivia's head. Lorelai gives him a strange look.

"It's Sunday, I always have the day off," Lorelai reminds him. "I wondered why you took Liam at all today."

"I forgot. You've been working most Sundays since the inn opened anyways," Luke says. Lorelai shrugs. He walks away, back to the counter and picks up a coffee cup. "Coffee?"

"Elixir of life?" Lorelai responds quickly.

"Sure, a shortened one," he grumbles. Lorelai laughs. Luke shakes his head walking over to get the coffee pot. "Aren't you going to sit here?" Luke asks, motioning to the stool in front of the coffee cup.

"I can't, remember?" Luke stares at her a moment, really trying to think. "Sookie's coming in we're going to-"

"Plan the wedding," Luke finishes, slightly recalling their late night conversation. Lorelai shakes her head smiling.

"You never remember."

"Why you try to tell me these things as I'm going to sleep, I'll never know," Luke mutters. "Okay, pick a table." He motions. Lorelai picks the table by the door, setting the bag down next to her and settling Olivia in her lap. Luke grabs the coffee cup off the counter and brings it over along with the coffee pot. "You want me to take Olivia upstairs with Liam?" Luke asks as he pours her coffee. Lorelai glances down at Olivia.

"Yeah, I guess," Lorelai figures, as if she really doesn't want to. "You still checking on them every 10 minutes?" Luke nods.

"Just like Jess and Rory," Luke responds. Lorelai grins.

"Oh you." Luke sets the coffee pot on the counter and lifts Olivia from Lorelai's arm.

"Hey there, Baby Girl, did you let Mom sleep in this morning?" Luke says to Olivia who blows raspberries in response.

"Oh yeah she did, cuz you took the screamer," Lorelai tells him.

"He's not a screamer. He just wants to make sure I can hear him when I'm asleep," Luke informs Lorelai, who smirks.

"Who's gotten up in the middle of the night for the past month? Lorelai Gilmore, correct. Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!" Lorelai teases. Luke shrugs it off.

"You've been up at that time anyways," he responds. Seeing Sookie walking in the door, Luke walks away to take Olivia upstairs. Sookie sets a big box by her side as she takes the seat across the table from Lorelai.

"Hey there," Lorelai greets Sookie, eyeing the big box. "A naked woman going to pop out of that?" Sookie reaches in the box and begins laying magazines on the table. "Modern Bride. Brides. Bridal Guide. World Class Weddings. Sookie, did you buy out the entire newsstand?" Lorelai asks, after reading the titles off some off the magazines.

"Well you want the best there is!" Sookie exclaims.

"Sure, but you could have told me. I have some here," Lorelai says, picking a few magazines out of the bag next to her and handing them to Sookie.

"Okay well these are three years old and these are almost two years old," Sookie says, looking at the dates on the magazines. "You want something modern don't you?"

"Well one of those is Modern Bride," Lorelai responds, defending herself. She grimaces. Sookie touches Lorelai's arm.

"Lorelai, you don't want the wedding you planned with Max or the wedding you planned with Christopher. You want something different. Something that represents you and Luke," Sookie tells her as Luke walks in and over to them. Lorelai shares a glance with Luke.

"Coffee, Sookie?" Luke asks.

"Sure, but Luke, don't you think I'm right?" Sookie asks. Lorelai chuckles.

"He doesn't care," Lorelai says. Luke furrows his eyebrows, shooting Lorelai a confused look.

"Yes, I do."

"Oh." Lorelai sits back. "I just… I didn't know guys actually ever wanted any input on weddings. I mean, we planned yours," Lorelai says, looking at Sookie, who nods.

"Max and Christopher never wanted any input?" Luke asks. Lorelai shakes her head.

"Rory and I planned my wedding to Max. It was an outdoor theme, you remember," Lorelai says. Luke nods. "And my mother planned my wedding to Christopher." Luke steps back, appalled. "Yeah." Lorelai nods.

"Emily did? No wonder you didn't marry him," Luke says, closing his eyes, wanting to put the words back in his mouth. Lorelai touches his arm.

"Seriously, you should have seen my face when he told me that my mother was involved in the planning. I imagine the hole is still in the roof," Lorelai tells him.

"Yikes," Sookie says. Luke takes a deep breath.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your planning," Luke says, touching Lorelai's shoulder.

"Coffee," Sookie reminds him.

"Times two," Lorelai adds, pointing to her empty cup. Luke gives her a look but walks off to go get the coffee.

"So, I was thinking about a summer wedding," Sookie says, her eyes lit up. "Like end of August." Lorelai doesn't look thrilled about this idea.

"It's June, Sookie. That means that we have two months to plan the wedding. Plus I want Rory to be here for the wedding. And also, my wedding to Max was supposed to be end of August."

"Oh, yeah," Sookie says softly. She flips through a magazine, trying to come up with a new idea.

"You know I was thinking…" Lorelai begins, folding her hands in front of her. Sookie looks up at her. "We haven't scheduled a wedding for the Dragonfly yet. Maybe my wedding could be the first one. It only takes one to start the ball rolling and that way we can show off our tastes in weddings. What do you think?" Sookie flashes Lorelai a big smile.

"That's a great idea!" Sookie squeals. Luke walks over with the coffee pot and a cup for Sookie.

"Luke, what do you think about having our wedding at the Dragonfly?" Lorelai asks him. Luke shrugs, pouring the coffee.

"I think I've heard of that place. Seems to me that someone said the dark haired owner's kinda bitchy," Luke deadpans.

"I heard that the dark haired owner is withholding sex tonight," Lorelai responds. Luke glances up at Lorelai, to correctly read her face, making sure she's actually joking. But she's giving him a poker face. Luke swallows only to have Lorelai wink at him.

"Anything else you need?" Luke asks.

"Oooh, a Breakfast at Lucas's," Lorelai requests.

"What specifically do you want?" Luke asks.

"A Breakfast at Lucas's. It's 3 ounces of Jack Daniels and 6 ounces of decaf, but you can make it caffeinated for me," Lorelai says innocently, her eyes glittering with mischief. Luke groans.

"I'll get right on that," Luke mutters and walks away. Lorelai grins at Sookie.

"So, okay, the Dragonfly. When?" Sookie asks, jotting down notes in a notebook.

"Well, I think I'd like to have it outside." Sookie sets down her pen.

"Lorelai, if we're going to wait until summer's over it'll be cold."

"And snowy," Lorelai adds. Her eyes light up and she looks away in wonder. "Yeah, we can have it outside with the snow falling around us. Me and Luke standing under the chuppah. Me in a beautiful cream gown and white lilies all around," Lorelai says in a dreamlike state.

"And everyone in overcoats," Luke grunts, setting a muffin on a plate in front of Lorelai. She looks up at him.

"Thanks," she says as if she didn't hear his comment. She breaks off a bit of the muffin and nibbles at it.

"It sounds nice," Sookie says hesitantly.

"But…" Lorelai replies, motioning for Sookie to continue.

"But, don't you think people would be cold outside?"

"Well we can have everything but the chuppah under a heated tent. Besides, if they don't like me enough to withstand the cold, then maybe I don't want them to come," Lorelai responds.

"They may be okay with the cold up to the point that they actually get frostbite," Sookie comments. Lorelai gives her a look. "But if you're okay with a heated tent, then we'll go from there." Lorelai glances at Luke, who nods and walks away. "So, when?" Sookie flips open the calendar, putting it in front of Lorelai, who flips to October and points to a date. "October 17th it is." Sookie writes down some more notes as Lorelai flips open a magazine and begins turning pages.

"You're going to do the menu right?" Lorelai asks. Sookie nods. "Oooh, you should make that fabulous chicken dish you made the other day!" Sookie grins.

"It was pretty good, wasn't it?" Sookie says, proud of herself.

"The sauce you put on it… wow."

"Secret's in the sauce," Sookie quips.

"Uh, ew?" Lorelai wrinkles her nose. Sookie giggles.

"Good thing you didn't say dirty." Lorelai nods, knowingly. Sookie giggles again. "So how many in the bridal party?" Lorelai furrows her eyebrows, considering this.

"Well, there's you," Lorelai says, pointing to her fingers. "And Rory, of course. And April. Oh, and Liz. So four." Sookie's eyes go wide.

"Wow, that's a lot Lorelai." Lorelai sighs.

"Well how about this, we can make Liam and Olivia the ring bearer and flower girl and April can be the junior bridesmaid and push them down the aisle in a stroller," Lorelai suggests.

"Clever!" Luke walks over.

"Anything new?" Luke asks.

"Yeah, how do you feel about the twins being our ring bearer and flower girl?" Lorelai asks.

"And they're just going to skip down the aisle?" Luke asks in disbelief. Lorelai laughs, smacking his arm.

"April's going to push them down in a stroller," Sookie tell him. Luke nods, agreeably. "What we need to know is who you want in the wedding."

"And it needs to be three, cuz I've got Sookie, Rory and Liz," Lorelai adds. Luke gives her a disgusted look at the mention of Liz. He sighs.

"Well Tony'll be my best man," Luke begins and then pauses. "And Kirk?"

"Kirk? Kirk's going to be in the wedding?" Lorelai repeats, her voice getting higher. Luke shrugs.

"Yeah. Sure." Lorelai looks at him in disbelief.

"Okay…"

"And… Jess?" Luke looks at Lorelai for approval. She nods.

"Okay, he's your nephew," Lorelai agrees.

"But Rory's going to be a bridesmaid," Luke reminds her. Lorelai shrugs.

"When she gets back I'll give her a choice: Jess or Kirk." Lorelai smirks. "And I really can't predict that response. Anyone want to take a bet?" Lorelai looks from Luke to Sookie. Receiving no response, Lorelai shrugs.

"Have you talked to Rory?" Sookie asks. Lorelai and Luke share a look. Luke lightly grips her shoulder. "Okay, got it." Sookie blushes. Lorelai touches Sookie's arm.

"It's okay, Sook. That's why we're doing this. Keeping my mind off of things," Lorelai say. "Now how about we put the plans on hold and go play with two adorable 6 month olds who are probably craving some attention," Lorelai suggests. Sookie sets down her pen.

"Yes, let's," Sookie agrees. Lorelai stands.

"Work hard, we're going to need good money for this wedding," Lorelai tells Luke. She smiles a gives him a quick kiss and then follows Sookie up the stairs.


	88. Chapter 88

**Dragonfly Inn**

Lorelai has Olivia on her hip as she talks on the phone by the reception desk. "Yes, Mr. McAdams the date is saved but I can't guarantee that it won't rain," Lorelai says into the phone as Richard walks into the Dragonfly. Noticing him, Lorelai looks a little shocked. Richard glances around the place and then walks over to Lorelai. "Yeah, sure will. Bye." Lorelai hangs up the phone and gives Richard a curious look. "Look who's slumming it," she quips.

"I'm not slumming it, I came to see you," Richard response, putting air quotes around 'slumming it'.

"Well knock my socks off."

"And your inn, I haven't actually gotten a good look at this place," Richard adds.

"Well this is it, feel free to look around," Lorelai responds with a wave of her arm. Richard nods and glances around but doesn't walk away.

"And I came to see my newest granddaughter." Lorelai raises an eyebrow and then smiles.

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place? Would you like to hold her?" Lorelai offers. Richard looks down at his feet before responding. Then he holds out his arms for Olivia. Lorelai walks around the desk and hands Olivia over to Richard, who looks every bit the proud grandfather as he stares down at his young granddaughter. Lorelai grins proudly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"She's so small," Richard manages.

"Yeah I had to pull on Rory's appendages really hard so that she would grow," Lorelai quips. Richard gives her a look.

"She's got the Gilmore eyes," Richard notices. Lorelai nods.

"Yep she does. So does Liam. Otherwise I would have had to give them back and exchange them for different babies." Richard doesn't respond as he touches Olivia's hand, causing her to wrap her small fingers around his much larger one. Lorelai is amazed to see how taken Richard is with the small child. "So Dad, you having a quiet summer without Mom?" Lorelai asks, moving her hands to her back.

"It's quiet all right," Richard mumbles. He glances up at Lorelai. "Have you heard from your mother lately?"

"Not since last week. They had just gotten to Rome and Mom was trying to pull a Nero," Lorelai responds.

"But she's well?" Richard inquires. Lorelai seems taken aback for a moment.

"Yeah, Dad, she is." Richard nods and then looks back down at Olivia. "Have you heard from Rory?" Lorelai asks. Richard looks up at her in surprise.

"You haven't talked to her?" Lorelai shrugs, biting her lower lip.

"We, um, had a small argument," Lorelai hesitantly replies.

"Oh." Richard clears his throat, not really knowing how to respond.

"I mean, it's no big deal. We just…" Lorelai takes a deep breath, not really wanting to let her father know how scared she is of losing Rory. Then she forces a smile. "Forget it, I'm sure she'll call soon." Richard eyes Lorelai warily.

"She seems to like it."

"Good, that's good. That's really good," Lorelai stammers. Michel walks over.

"Lorelai, your eternal slave is back so that you can get back to standing around doing something and pretending as if you do some real work here," Michel says sarcastically. Lorelai glares at him, glancing over at Richard to see if he heard, but he's still thankfully engrossed in playing with Olivia.

"I know it's hard for you to understand with all that hot air taking up space in your head there Michel," Lorelai snaps back. Michel raises an eyebrow. Lorelai gives him a pointed look and then turns back to Richard. "Hey Dad, I was just going to take a long lunch so I could take Olivia for a ride on the slide at the playground, she's never ridden on the slide and I've been dying to take her. Do you want to join?" Lorelai suggests. Richard seems to think this over for a moment. "Come on Dad, you know you can't say no to that adorable face of hers." She says this with perfect timing as Olivia blows a raspberry at Richard, making him smile.

"All right Lorelai, that sounds like a lovely idea," Richard agrees. Lorelai nods. She walks back into her office and walks back out with a single stroller and a diaper bag. "Just to go to the park?"

"Oh Dad, you remember how it is to take kids out for a little while. It's only been 36 years," Lorelai reminds him. Richard stares at her. Lorelai reaches for Olivia and Richard hands her over, a distant look still in his eyes.

"Actually Lorelai, I don't remember. I never took you to the park when you were a baby," Richard says. Lorelai smiles knowingly as she puts Olivia in the stroller.

"Yes, Dad, I know that, but I'm sure we went somewhere."

"No, Lorelai, I never took you out by myself. Normally it was the nanny and once or twice your mother." Lorelai glances up at Richard, who seems sad. She presses her lips together, trying to figure out how to respond.

"It's okay Dad, you were busy," Lorelai whispers. Richard shakes his head. She sighs, buckling the last buckle. "I mean, Christopher never did."

"Does Luke take the twins out on his own?" Lorelai glances up at Richard.

"Yeah, Dad, he does." Lorelai stands. Richard plays with his hands, the tension mounting. Lorelai touches Richard's arm comfortingly. "Dad, I understand, that's how it was then. I mean, you did what you were supposed to do, you provided for us." Richard doesn't seem to feel any better about this. "Anyways, you're here now and you're here for Rory. So let's go. Okay?" Lorelai raises an eyebrow. Richard nods.

Lorelai turns and pushes Olivia's stroller outside the inn, where Richard stops. Not noticing, Lorelai keeps walking. "Dad!" Lorelai calls, glancing behind her at him. He looks over at her. "Walk this way." She grins. "Come on, talk this way." She winks. Richard finally moves to follow her.

"So, how are the wedding plans going, Lorelai?" Richard asks as they walk towards the playground.

"They're going well Dad. I think Sookie and I have really made a big dent in the planning and we're well on our way to a beautiful October wedding."

"Ah, an October wedding. There's something special about a fall ceremony," Richard comments.

"There's no leaves on the trees?"

"No, Lorelai, it's when the world is fill with fruits and flowers. William Blake said it was when 'the narrow bud opens her beauties to the sun and love runs in her thrilling veins'," Richard quotes.

"Ah, that Blake, he really had a way with words."

"And is Rory going to be in your wedding?" Lorelai looks at him like he's crazy.

"Yes, I can't let her stubbornness ruin my wedding day," Lorelai responds. "So Rory and Sookie and Luke's sister Liz."

"That sounds nice, it's good to have family in your wedding." Lorelai looks over at Richard curiously.

"Dad, you know you're going to walk me down the aisle, right?" Richard seems a little timid.

"I wasn't sure," Richard hesitates to say. Lorelai smiles at Richard.

"Well you are, of course you are." Richard almost blushes, pleased to be asked. "I may have waited until I was 36 to get married, but that doesn't mean that you missed your chance to perform your last fatherly duty."

"My only fatherly duty," Richard mutters. Lorelai shakes her head.

"No, there's also one about determining the sex of the child." Richard sighs. Lorelai smiles, touching Richard's shoulder again. "Hey, here's the playground. You want to take Olivia on the slide?"

"Lorelai, you said you've been wanting to take her." Lorelai shrugs.

"Well, I can take her anytime," Lorelai replies, trying to hide the fact that she really does want to take Olivia, but Richard knows her too well. He smiles.

"No, Lorelai, you take her." Lorelai nods. She bends down to take Olivia out of the stroller.

"Come'ere half-pint," Lorelai sings, lifting Olivia into her arms. "Ready for the best experience of your life so far?" Lorelai's eyes light up as she takes Olivia over to the slide. Lorelai reaches out and runs her fingers down the sliver metal of the slide. "You know, Olivia, when your sister was about your age I took her on this slide and she loved it, so I know you'll love it if you're anything like her. You just gotta trust me on this." Sadness flicks in Lorelai's eyes as she tears her gaze from the slide over to Olivia. "You gotta trust me kiddo," she whispers. Adjusting Olivia on her hip, Lorelai walks over to the back of the slide and grabs onto the railing as she climbs the stairs. Lorelai holds onto the railing as she sits down at the top of the slide and glances up at Richard, who is looking back at her, his arms folded over his chest. Lorelai smiles at him. Lifting Olivia's hand to wave, Lorelai calls, "wave to Grampa, Olivia!" Richard nods to her.

Lorelai wraps her arms tight around Olivia as the child settles in her lap. "Don't be scared, Sweetie. Mommy's got ya. Mommy will always protect you," Lorelai whispers in Olivia's ear. Then she pushes off yelling 'wee' on the way down and Olivia squeals in delight. Lorelai hugs Olivia to her at the bottom of the slide. "See Olivia, I knew you'd love it!"

"Ma!" Olivia squeals making Lorelai hold her tighter.

"Your first word! You had your first word! And it was Ma!" Lorelai cries, a happy tear running down her cheek as she holds Olivia tightly against her. "Oh Olivia, I love you so much!"


	89. Chapter 89

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Lorelai hangs up the phone and smiles down at it. She looks up, thinking over the phone conversation, staring off into space as Luke walks in the front door. "Hey," he greets her. After a moment's hesitation, Lorelai looks over at him and smiles.

"Hey," she responds. Luke looks concerned. "Rory called." Luke's mouth drops open as he wonders whether to smile or not.

"That's great!" he exclaims. "See, I told you she'd come around." Luke shakes a finger at Lorelai, who nods.

"Yeah, you did," she agrees, although only halfheartedly.

"Wait a minute." Luke walks around the couch to stand in front of her. His hands go to his hips as he looks down at Lorelai. "I thought you'd be happier about this." Lorelai shrugs.

"I am happy, I am. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"I dunno, I think this thing isn't really fixed," Lorelai says.

"Why, what did she say exactly?" Luke asks. Lorelai shrugs, standing to put the phone back on the table by the door.

"She apologized. She said she was wrong," Lorelai tells him as she sets the phone down. Luke watches Lorelai, completely lost.

"Okay, clearly you lost me at hello." Lorelai glances back at him, pressing her lips together, although itching to smile at the fact that Luke just quoted the movie she had forced him to watch the night before. She takes a deep breath.

"It's just… I'm glad she apologized. I mean, I'm glad she realized she was wrong. But Luke, she told me she hated me. I don't think a quick apology is going to fix that. In my entire life, I have never told my parents that I hated them."

"Well, because you don't," Luke responds. Lorelai huffs.

"So what does that say about Rory?" Lorelai asks, pain resonating in her voice.

"It was the heat of the moment. You two were arguing, she knew she was wrong and didn't want to admit it and just yelled that."

"I have argued with my parents millions upon millions of times, so much that I think Gloria Monty used us as her basis for the Quartermaines. But never, in my entire 36 years of life, have I told them I hated them." Lorelai shakes her head. She looks down, covering her eyes with her hands. "It just…" She removes her hands, shaking them. "It just keeps running over in my mind." Lorelai looks up at Luke. "We had an amazing relationship, we were best friends, we were always supposed to be best friends. Like in Tumbleweeds." Lorelai shrugs. Luke looks confused. "Another awesome movie that no one's seen because it doesn't star Julia Roberts."

"Got it." Luke walks over to her, cocking his head to look up into her face. She smiles softly looking up at him as he picks his head back up. "Give her a chance Lorelai, if I know Rory, she's regretting every moment of this." Luke reaches out and tenderly plays with her hair.

"You know, I asked her about the wedding," Lorelai says. Luke raises an eyebrow, setting his hand on her shoulder.

"You mean you asked her who she wanted to talk down the aisle with?" Luke asks. Lorelai nods. "And…"

"Pay up," Lorelai announces, grinning, holding out her hand.

"You're kidding, she picked Kirk?" Luke asks, shocked.

"You think you know my daughter better than me, Buster?" Lorelai teases. Luke takes his wallet out of his back pocket and hands her five dollars. "Hello there Mr. Lincoln, I've been waiting for you," Lorelai says in an English accent. She grins at Luke, eyes glittering. She flirtatiously runs a quick finger down his cheek.

"You're impossible." Lorelai arches an eyebrow seductively. She grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls his lips to hers. Luke can only grab her shoulders, pulling her to him as he leans further into the kiss. Lorelai moans against his lips as she opens her mouth to deepen the kiss. She's gripping his shirt with all her might as she wraps her other arm around his back. Luke's hands run down her back, his fingers drifting under the back of her tank top. Unfortunately for both, the phone rings. They both groan, slowly pulling back, panting. Lorelai picks up the phone, taking a deep breath to get her emotions under control before she answers.

"Hello?" Lorelai says, touching her hand her flaming cheeks. Luke moves a hand to Lorelai's stomach, tracing circles on her soft belly. "Yeah, Mom, it's me." She gives Luke an annoyed look. Luke bends his head down and starts sucking on her neck. "No, when have I ever sounded like a man? I swear I'm not Luke." Lorelai tips her head to give Luke more access to her neck. "Yeah, Ma, I talked to her a little bit ago." Lorelai closes her eyes, completely turned on. "She said that. Oh, hold on." Lorelai covers the phone with her hand and holds it at her side as she quickly grabs Luke's face with her other hand, moving his lips to hers and kissing him passionately and then lets go. She gives him a look, pointing to the phone and Luke chuckles. Lorelai picks the phone back up. "I'm back." Luke chuckles softly. Lorelai motions towards the couch with her head. She takes Luke's hand, leading him over to the couch. "Yeah, Mom, I told you. October 17th." They sit down next to each other on the couch. "Well I don't care if that's not a good day for you." Lorelai rolls her eyes. Luke pulls her legs up so they lay across his lap. "Yes, you will be coming to my wedding." Luke slowly removes Lorelai's sandals and then begins massaging her feet. Lorelai closes her eyes, letting herself relax as she leans back against the side of the couch. "Mom, it's all done. Yeah it is!" Luke moves to Lorelai's other foot as she rubs her forehead with her hand. "Okay, sounds good. Mom. Buh-bye." Lorelai clicks the phone off, breathing a sigh of relief. She relaxes her hand letting the phone fall to the floor.

Lorelai shakes her head at Luke, giving him a pretend angry look. "You know, I need a lover that won't drive me crazy," she teases him. Luke chuckles. He stops his massage, patting her ankle with his hand.

"Where have I heard that before?" he responds, winking. Lorelai scoots closer to him, leaving her legs on his lap and taking his left hand between hers. "That was Emily?" Lorelai nods, playing with his fingers.

"First she wanted to tell me that Rory wanted go with me and April to shop for bridesmaid dresses."

"Which you already knew," Luke finishes. Lorelai nods, pressing her lips together.

"I knew. And Rory and I had already decided that we would pick something out with Sookie and April and then I would hem it so that we didn't have to worry about it not being done on time."

"You have time for that?" Luke asks. Lorelai looks up at him innocently.

"Why, do you think you'll miss me?" she kids.

"Not a bit, I was just wondering if the rules had changed and the bride's not supposed to see the groom for the whole two months before the wedding," Luke teases. Lorelai rolls her eyes. "So what else did Emily have to say?"

"Oh you know, the day that we picked out for the wedding isn't the best day for her," Lorelai complains, flailing her hand.

"And you said?"

"I said screw you Emily Gilmore!" Lorelai shouts. She gives Luke a look.

"And you said?" Luke repeats. Lorelai sighs.

"I said we weren't going to change our chosen wedding date just to please the Emily Gilmores of the world," Lorelai replies.

"Good," Luke agrees, patting her leg. Lorelai looks down at their hands, watching hers play with his. Meanwhile Luke is observing Lorelai. She looks up at him and blushes, realizing he's been watching her. She looks nervous for a moment and kinda looks away. "Luke, are you nervous?" she finally asks.

"About marrying you?" Luke questions.

"No, I mean, yes, but…" She closes her eyes, shaking her head and then looks over at Luke. "Marriage, are you nervous?"

"No," Luke responds quickly. He grabs her hands in his one that she was playing with, forcing her to stop her movement with her fingers. "Are you?" Lorelai shakes her head violently.

"No." Luke cocks his head, waiting for her to explain her line of questioning. "Are you nervous about the wedding?"

"Isn't that what you just asked me?" Luke wonders.

"I mean the day, October 17th, are you nervous?" Luke looks at her like she's crazy.

"What I earth would I have to be nervous about?" Lorelai shrugs, pursing her lips, looking back down at her hands. "Hey. Lorelai." Luke takes his hand out of hers, wrapping it around shoulders, pulling her to him. She lays her head on his shoulder, twisting her hands in her lap.

"I've been engaged twice before. I've broken two engagements," Lorelai says softly. She presses her lips together. "So, aren't you a little worried that it could just be my thing? Aren't you just the teeniest bit nervous that I'm going to cut and run?" Lorelai doesn't look at Luke for even a moment as she says this.

"No," Luke responds, not considering Lorelai's musings for a moment. Lorelai looks up at him, surprised. "We're a family, you and me and the kids. We're already set. The wedding is just a formality but we're already all in." Lorelai stares at him, letting his words sinking. "You and me, we're set in stone, Lorelai. We've got Rory and April. We've got Liam and Olivia. And who knows who else might come along. It's set." Lorelai's mouth drops open.

"Who else might come along?" Lorelai repeats tenuously. Luke's lips slowly curl into a smile. "Luke, you can't possibly think we're having any more children."

"It could happen," Luke responds simply. Lorelai snorts.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize I was in just another remake of Cheaper By the Dozen," Lorelai says sarcastically. "We have four children between the two of us. We were fruitful. We multiplied. And even if we're just talking about the twins, we made one in our own image." She points at Luke. "Boy." She points at herself. "Girl." She points at Luke. "Liam." She points at herself. "Olivia."

"Never say never Lorelai." Lorelai raises her eyebrows.

"Oh, I'm saying it. Luke, we can rename the Crap Shack the Love Shack, but I'm not getting pregnant again," Lorelai maintains. "Do you hear what I'm saying?" Luke nods slowly.

"The Love Shack, huh?" Lorelai winks, her eyes glittering. Luke gets a goofy smile on his face.

"B-52's all the way Baby," she adds in her soft seductive voice. Luke tilts his head as he moves closer to kiss her.

"All the way," he repeats in a low growl as he captures her lips with his. His hand moves from her shoulders to cup the back of her head, pulling her lips closer to his. Lorelai manages to wrap one hand around the back of Luke's head, playing with his hair, and grasps his shirt tightly in the other hand. She moans against his lips, their tongues tangling. Luke slowly pushes Lorelai's legs off his lap as she lays back on the couch, still kissing hungrily. She moves her legs back on the couch as Luke settles on top of her. Leaning her head back, Luke moves his lips down to suck on her neck, Lorelai's hands playing with the curls on the back of his neck as she arches into him.

"Luke…" Lorelai moans as Luke slowly slides his hand under the back of her shirt, her skin tingling with desire. Her moans causing Luke to move his lips back to hers, their lips and tongues crashing together.

Just then the door slams. Luke quickly pulls back, instantly withdrawing his hand from under her shirt. Luke looks up over the back of the couch to see April standing there. "April," he breathes, his face going pale. Lorelai covers her face with her hands, blushing in complete embarrassment. April blushes as well, not knowing what to do next.

"Ummm…" April manages. Luke rolls off the couch, standing and brushing off.

"Hey April," he says, trying to cover his embarrassment.

"Hi Dad," April replies, a grin spreading over her face. "Hi Lorelai," she calls. Lorelai closes her eyes, wishing she could just disappear.

"Hi April," Lorelai responds weakly, still lying on the couch.

"You came over to…" Luke trails off, trying to remember. He scratches the back of his head.

"My… softball game?"

"Oh, right." Luke nods.

"You said you wanted to make me dinner beforehand," April reminds him.

"Right I did!" He looks down at Lorelai, who raises an eyebrow. Luke offers a hand to her. Lorelai takes a deep breath before taking his hand, letting him pull her up off the couch. "Let me tell you, you're going to be happy I did this," Luke tells April.

"I would be delighted to know why."

"When I joined my first baseball team, there was this kid Freddie Sanders. In all of our practices, Freddie was only an average hitter, but in our first game Freddie hit 1.000 including a triple and a home run," Luke says.

"And you thought that eating constantly and getting fat would keep people from wondering why you weren't as good as Freddie?" Lorelai teases. Luke shakes his head at her.

"No, I asked Freddie what he ate before the game. He said it was macaroni and cheese. So before every game after that I ate macaroni and cheese." Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"You did?" Lorelai asks in disbelief. Luke nods. "You, Luke 'veggies are my best friend' Danes." Luke rolls his eyes. "You, junk-food-is-gonna-cause-death-at-age-20-man." Luke's hands go to his hips as he waits for her to finish her harassment. Lorelai smirks.

"You jest, but just wait and see," Luke responds. "April, I'm gonna make you a dinner of macaroni and cheese and then you'll go play the softball game of your life," Luke tells her, pointing at her. April doesn't even look like she believes him. Lorelai snorts. Luke glances over at her.

"I forgot about the performance enhancing powers of pasta and cheese," Lorelai quips. "Are you sure you didn't by accident add some epo into the mix?" April giggles. Lorelai winks at her, having finally recovered from one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.

"Okay, Dad, let's do it. I'm ready for my macaroni kryptonite."

"That's the spirit!" Luke exclaims, not noticing April's sarcasm. "Okay, well I'm gonna go make you dinner and then we'll head off to the game." April nods. "You coming?" Luke asks Lorelai.

"You bet your ass I am!" Luke motions with his head at April. "I mean, you be touring Siam!" Luke looks at Lorelai strangely. She shrugs in response. "Okay, well I'm gonna go see if our little poopers are awake and get them ready." Lorelai turns and runs upstairs. Luke watches her and then glances at April.

"You'd better get moving on that mac and cheese, because even the most amazing super powerful wonder that is mac and cheese couldn't get me the ability to play in the game if I'm late," April warns.


	90. Chapter 90

**Luke and Lorelai's House**

Lorelai is in the kitchen with Sookie both attempting to spoon feed one of the twins when Rory walks in. "Look who's in the house!" Rory sings as she walks in the room.

"Rory!" Lorelai exclaims, getting up and throwing her arms around her daughter. Rory hugs Lorelai back tightly. "Don't you ever leave without me again!"

"Okay, but Yale's gonna complain when you move in," Rory teases, still hugging Lorelai, who pulls back, still with her arms around Rory.

"You mean Paris is going to complain." Rory grins and nods.

"Hi Sookie," Rory says as Lorelai lets go and sits back down.

"Hey Rory!" Sookie stands and hugs Rory as well.

"Hey Liam. Hey Olivia," Rory greets each of her siblings, kissing each of them on their heads. "Mmmm that looks tasty," Rory teases as Lorelai spoons a little baby food into Liam's mouth, catching some of his dribble with the spoon.

"Oh yeah, Liam likes his veggies. Right, peas are good, right Baby Ruth?" Lorelai coos. Sookie wrinkles her nose as she tries to shove food in Olivia's mouth.

"How come it works so easily for you?" Sookie whines. Lorelai glances over at Sookie and laughs.

"That's cuz you're trying to feed my little Mini Me smashed peas," Lorelai replies. Sookie raises an eyebrow, looking a little scared. "It's okay Sook, you just forget that I hate veggies, even when I was a baby my nanny couldn't get me to eat a single bite of them."

"Especially avocado," Rory asks. Lorelai nods to her.

"True fact, Kiddo," Lorelai agrees.

"So what am I supposed to be feeding her?" Sookie wonders.

"I've gotten her to eat soft foods not made by Gerber. Like mashed potatoes or smashed bananas, but she likes the bananas best with chocolate sauce on them."

"You feed your 8 month old chocolate?"

"Sure, as long as Luke isn't around," Lorelai responds. Sookie glances up at Rory, who grins so that Sookie doesn't know if Lorelai is joking or not.

"Okay…." Sookie trails off, pondering this idea as Emily walks in.

"Mom," Lorelai notices, surprised.

"Hello Lorelai, I just wanted to stop in and say hello before I went back to Hartford," Emily snarks. Sookie and Lorelai share a look.

"Well why don't take a load off, stay awhile, regale us with tales about all the suave Italian men you flirted with," Lorelai teases, not really meaning it. Emily gives Lorelai a sour look.

"No, I will not 'take a load off'," Emily snaps, quoting Lorelai's words with distaste. "My help brought Rory's things inside. She had a good time, so don't brainwash those children of yours into thinking that I'm that Hannigan lady."

"Don't worry Gramma, I'll make sure to keep Mom in check," Rory promises. Lorelai looks at Rory like she's crazy. "Come on, Gramma, I'll walk you out." Emily nods. Rory sticks out her tongue at Lorelai as she walks out.

"Some lady my mother brought back," Lorelai mutters causing Sookie to giggle. Sookie's looking through Lorelai's cupboards for something to feed Olivia.

"Lorelai! What on earth do you eat here!" Sookie admonishes her friend, who blushes and giggles.

"My fiancé owns a diner, why do I need to keep food in the house?" Lorelai responds logically. Sookie glances over her shoulder to give Lorelai a settling look.

"You mean that every time you or the kids are hungry, you have to schlep everything over to the diner?" Sookie wonders. Lorelai shrugs.

"Either that or I call for delivery in the form of a handsome but scruffy dinerman," Lorelai responds. Sookie sighs.

"Well there's nothing here for Olivia, you want to head over to the diner?" Lorelai nods, standing, quickly wiping off Liam's mouth.

"Yeah, Rory's probably hungry and she's been eating stuffy rich people food for weeks, nothing a good Luke's burger and fries can't cure." Lorelai lifts Liam out of his highchair. "I don't need the diaper bag, there's stuff in the room above the diner. Can you grab Olivia and I'll get the strollers ready?"

"Sure thing," Sookie agrees, picking up Olivia out of her high chair. She follows Lorelai outside, where Rory is waving as Emily's car pulls away. Lorelai's bent over buckling Liam in one of the two strollers. Sookie puts Olivia in the other stroller and buckles Olivia in.

"Oooh, can I push?" Rory begs.

"Sure, anything for you, my love," Lorelai responds, motioning for Rory to push Olivia's stroller. The three begin their short trek to the diner. "So Rory, tell us about Europe." Rory shrugs.

"Oh you know, it was…" Rory pauses, thinking of the correct word. "Proper." Lorelai snorts.

"I never thought that about Europe," Sookie comments.

"Well you would if you had ever traveled with my grandmother," Rory responds. Lorelai rubs Rory's arm sympathetically.

"That's what you get for being mean to the Mommy," Lorelai reminds her. Rory rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll never do that again," Rory responds firmly. They walk in silence for a minute. "So any Stars Hollow news?"

"Other than that the Dragonfly Inn has opened with a huge success and is putting on what can be termed the wedding of the century in October?" Lorelai responds. Rory grins.

"It feels like it's taken a century for that wedding actually to happen," Rory kids.

"Hey!" Lorelai exclaims, feigning hurt.

"She's right. I mean you moved here when Rory was almost one," Sookie reminds Lorelai.

"Yeah, but I didn't meet Luke until Rory was 11," Lorelai defends herself. "And we didn't get together until a year ago."

"Which time are you speaking of?" Sookie wonders. Lorelai glares at her.

"I'm talking about when I got back from my European vacation and we officially decided we were together," Lorelai replies.

"So then after these two were conceived," Sookie notes, waving a hand at the twins.

"Um, okay, I don't want to know about that," Rory comments, wrinkling her nose. Lorelai smirks.

"You're one to talk, slut," Lorelai responds. Rory gives Lorelai a pointed look and Lorelai swallows, blushing. "Oh," she whispers. There's another quiet moment. "Well, here we have the world renowned Luke's Diner where they have the best coffee in North America and the most pleasant proprietor in all the world," Lorelai jokes breaking the tension and waving a hand at the diner. Lorelai and Rory take a moment to unbuckle the twins and lift them into their arms. "Lead the way Sook."

Sookie opens the door for Lorelai and Rory causing the bells to ring alerting Luke to new customers. He glances up from the customer he's talking to and a smile instantly spreads over his face. Saying a few last words to the customer, Luke walks right over to the Gilmores. "Hey Rory!" He and Rory share a one armed hug, sandwiching Olivia in the middle.

"Hey Dad. You discover the secret to feeding Mom veggies while I was gone?" Lorelai gives Rory a horrified look. Luke chuckles.

"I haven't even discovered the secret to feeding Olivia veggies," Luke grumbles. Lorelai grins and gives Sookie and wink and a nod. Wrapping an arm around Lorelai's waist, Luke leans in and kisses her.

"So anywhere?" Lorelai asks. Luke nods, motioning to the nearest table. "Can you grab a high chair for Olivia?"

"Did Liam eat?"

"Yeah, crazy kid likes the greens." Luke shakes his head.

"I'll go get that high chair."

"And get burgers and fries all around for those with actual teeth," Rory tells him.

"She means those over the age of 1 because we both know that the horrible reign of the screaming teethers has begun," Lorelai says.

"Oooh," Rory says, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head. "And for a moment I'm actually happy to be moving in with Paris."

"And get something for Olivia to eat," Lorelai adds.

"Two thirds formula, one third cereal?" Luke asks.

"You know the trick," Lorelai responds. Luke nods and walks away. The three women sit down at the nearest table.

"Did you ask him yet?" Rory asks Lorelai, who quickly shakes her head. "Mo-om! You're so much better at convincing him to do things he doesn't want to do than anyone else!"

"That's because I'm the only one who can reward him in bed," Lorelai replies.

"Mom!" Rory admonishes her. Lorelai laughs gleefully.

"You are terrible," Sookie tells Lorelai, shaking her head. Luke walks back over and sets the highchair in between Lorelai and Rory.

"Here," Luke grunts, motioning for Olivia. Rory hands her sister over. Luke puts her in the high chair and snaps her in. Rory gives Lorelai a pointed look.

"So um, hey, Hun, you remember that Rory's moving back into Yale in a couple days?" Lorelai asks lightly as Luke adjusts the straps on the chair. He glances over at her.

"Yeah, you've reminded me several times," Luke tells Lorelai, who looks down.

"I have not!" Lorelai insists.

"Mom," Rory whispers. Luke glances between the two of them and then stands, folding his arms over his chest.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm entering the Temple of Doom?" Luke wonders.

"Okay, Indiana, Rory just wanted to know if you would help her move into her dorm," Lorelai tells him.

"Sure," Luke quickly agrees. He turns to leave. "Wait."

"So close," Lorelai mutters, snapping her fingers.

"What aren't you telling me?" Rory and Lorelai share a look.

"Paris is going to be there," Rory says quietly.

"And I need you to store another mattress," Lorelai adds softly. Luke sighs.

"Fine. We can store the mattress upstairs and with the help of some rope and duct tape, Paris will be under control," Luke decides. Lorelai raises an eyebrow.

"Why Luke Danes, I never knew you had it in you," Lorelai teases.

"Well with that in mind you can get me to do just about anything," Luke responds.

"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaims in a growl. Luke grins in spite of himself and then shakes his head at her.

"Okay, I'll go check on your meals," Luke says. He pats Rory on the shoulder. "Good to have you home Rory." Rory smiles up at him.

"Good to be here Dad, I missed you."


	91. Chapter 91

**Yale**

Having left Liam and Olivia with Sookie for the day, Luke and Lorelai drove out to New Haven in Luke's truck with all of Rory's things. Rory left Stars Hallow earlier that morning so that she could unpack her car before Luke and Lorelai arrived. Lorelai called Rory as they were pulling into the parking lot and Rory saved them a close parking space. "Luke, over there," Lorelai shouts, pointing at Rory who's waving her arms at them. Luke nods, slowly pulling up the truck towards Rory. "Don't hit her!" Lorelai yells. Luke gives Lorelai a look.

"I'm not gonna hit her!" Luke shouts back.

"Well she's right there!"

"Lorelai!" Luke exclaims, slamming on the brakes to shut her up. Lorelai sticks out her bottom lip, pouting. Luke shakes his head as he pulls into the space that Rory has moved out of. Throwing the truck into park, Luke glares at Lorelai. "I didn't have to do this you know."

"Yes you did, your daughter put on her 'Rory face'," Lorelai reminds him. Luke glances over at Rory, who's grinning from ear to ear. Luke sighs resting an arm on the steering wheel. "Besides, you know that if you do this favor for me, I'll wear my new black dress and high heels out to dinner with you next week." Luke swallows hard.

"The new one?" Luke repeats, as if his tongue has swollen in his mouth. Lorelai arches her eyebrow flirtatiously.

"Yeah you saw it, the one with the slit up the side?" Lorelai teases. Luke takes a deep breath. Lorelai leans over and gives Luke a quick kiss and then jumps out of the truck. "Let's go, why are you still sitting there?" Luke shakes his head quickly, clearing the fog in his brain that had settled ever since the image of Lorelai in the black dress came into his mind. "Yo, bump on a log, let's go!" Luke takes a deep breath and gets out of the truck. They walk to either side of the back of the truck. "You really like the dress that much?"

"That's why you bought it, isn't it?" Luke responds, rubbing a hand over his mouth, making sure he's not drooling or something. Lorelai grins, pleased to have that power over him.

"Just wait until you see me in my wedding dress." Luke chuckles, breathing deep to keep his face from turning red.

"Now now, there's still over a month before that," Rory warns them, walking over. "My dorm's just over there, do you think you can get the couch?" Luke glances at the couch and nods.

"Sure we can, Lorelai?" Luke responds, making sure that Lorelai's going to help. He walks over to the back and opens the back of the truck. "You can do this right?" Lorelai raises an eyebrow at him, giving him a look like he's crazy. Luke sighs. "Lorelai…"

"I can't do that. I'm a delicate little woman!" Lorelai exclaims. Luke puts his hands on his hips, giving her a look. Lorelai shrugs. "Okay, fine." Luke climbs in the truck and pushes the couch towards Rory and Lorelai who grab the other end. "Ug!" Lorelai groans as she tries to hold onto her side. "Forget it, I wish I was pregnant again!"

"Is that the only way you think you can get out of this?" Rory asks. Lorelai nods. Rory looks over at Luke to see if Lorelai's right. He nods as well.

"Oh yeah, Mama didn't raise no fool," he responds. Lorelai grins at the reference. "Now come on Lorelai. You get in the truck and push and I'll take the other end," Luke suggests, motioning for her to get in the truck. Rory and Lorelai share a look.

"Go Mom, be a man!" Rory cheers her on. Lorelai shrugs and makes sure Rory has a hold on the couch before hoisting herself into the truck. She stands next to Luke staring down at the couch.

"You think you can do it?" Luke asks her. Lorelai nods slowly. He grins, pushing up his sleeves. "Okay." Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Luke pulls Lorelai towards him and kisses the side of her head. "I'll go get the other side." He jumps out of the truck and takes the other side from Rory. Lorelai bends over and pushes the couch towards Luke as he backs up until he's holding most of it up. "Okay now get down and make sure you have a good hold on the other side before lifting it." Lorelai purses her lips and then nods, climbing down from the truck. "You can do it Lorelai." Lorelai glances over at Luke and smiles.

"Si se puede, si se puede!" Lorelai exclaims. Rory giggles. Luke sighs.

"Stop quoting stupid Disney movies and do it. Rory, go get the door," Luke says, motioning with his head towards the door.

"Sure thing Pops," Rory replies and takes her key out of her pocket as she walks over to the door.

"Pops," Luke grumbles.

"Well that's better than a few words she could have used," Lorelai warns him.

"Just get the couch!" Luke snaps, not really angry. Lorelai laughs and gets a good hold on the couch. "You got it?"

"I have it," Lorelai responds timidly.

"Lift!" They both lift at the same time. Lorelai groans. "Lorelai?"

"I've got it, just move your tight buns mister!" Lorelai shouts. Luke begins to walk backwards towards the dorm with Lorelai barking orders as she keeps a tight grasp on the couch. Rory quickly opens the door and runs inside to get the lock on her room.

"Hey Rory," Marty says, coming up on the other side of her.

"Marty!" Rory exclaims, pausing her work on the door lock to throw her arms around him. Marty turns red but quickly hugs Rory back. "It's been so long, oh I'm so glad to see you!"

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, you open that door or you're gonna find yourself without the rest of your suitcases including all your clothes!" Lorelai shouts. Rory quickly turns and unlocks the door, holding it open as Luke and Lorelai walk in. "Nice to see you again Naked Guy!" Lorelai calls as she passes by Marty, who turns red again.

"That nickname isn't going away any time soon, is it?" Marty mutters to Rory, who giggles. Marty and Rory walk in the room.

"Is this where you want it?" Luke asks.

"Cuz if it's not, you're gonna have to hire someone to move it, this Gilmore needs a nap," Lorelai adds quickly. They've pushed the couch in the middle of the room and are standing next to each other looking at it.

"You did good," Luke compliments her.

"Aw, thanks, you did good too for an old man," Lorelai kids.

"Old man," Luke grumbles, swatting at her playfully. But Lorelai's too quick for him and grabs his hand. Luke responds by quickly grabbing her waist with his other hand pulling her closer to him as the fingers of their other hands interlace. Lorelai cups the back of Luke's head as she pulls his lips to hers, kissing him roughly and passionately.

"Oh get a room!" Rory yells. Marty's mouth has dropped open and he looks embarrassed, but Lorelai and Luke notice no one in the room but themselves as they slowly pull their lips apart.

"I think we're embarrassing our daughter," Lorelai murmurs to Luke, who quickly kisses Lorelai's nose and pulls away completely. Rory folds her arms over her chest, tapping her foot. "Okay, okay, your movers just took a quick break, don't get yourself all in a tizzy." Marty chuckles. Lorelai smiles at him, appreciating someone who likes her jokes. "So Marty, are you living here too?" Lorelai asks. Marty nods.

"Yeah, I just came to tell you that," Marty says turning to Rory.

"Well that's great, easier to set up our study dates," Rory replies. Lorelai looks at Luke mouthing 'study dates' and putting air quotes around the words. Luke looks slightly ill. He clears his throat.

"Come on, Lorelai, let's go grab some more things," Luke says, grabbing Lorelai by the arm and pulling her out of the room.

"That's nice," Marty comments as he and Rory watch them.

"You mean my Mom and Dad?" Marty nods.

"I mean that he's so good to you and he's not your real Dad. My dad's not my real dad and I think that's the only reason he's nice to me," Marty tells her.

"You're really going to have to tell me that whole story sometime," Rory replies. "But I'm glad for them, that they're so happy together. Shows that there's always hope."

"Hope?" Marty repeats. Rory smiles, still watching Luke and Lorelai horse around as they unpack the truck.

"Yeah, that no matter what, you can always find that special someone. That it could just be someone who's right there." Rory shrugs. "That there's guys out there that will love everything about you, even children with a different father."

"Sure." Rory glances over at Marty and smiles. "You have children I don't know about?" he jokes. Rory laughs, turning to start unpacking some boxes.

"You know, I think I was jealous of my siblings for a bit. I mean Olivia and Liam. They get to grow up with two parents who love each other and are always there for each other, but I just have to remind myself that I also had it good," Rory recalls. "I mean, I was my mother's world for years and she was mine. And even though I didn't have a father, as I got older I had Luke, who was always there even when Mom wasn't. And I should just appreciate all that Mom's done for me."

"You really should try that sometime," Lorelai adds, surprising Rory, who has her back to the door, as she walks in carrying suitcases. "Mother is always right, I've told you that time and again."

"Yeah, even when you told me to vote for John Kerry?" Rory teases. Lorelai grumps as she sets down the suitcases. Luke walks in carrying some boxes.

"You know what I'm always right about? Coffee time!" Lorelai exclaims. "Is that coffee stand near here?" Rory nods.

"Yup, right outside," Rory responds, pointing in the opposite direction from the truck.

"Lorelai, you had two cups before we left," Luke complains.

"Yeah and that was enough caffeine to get me through the half hour ride to Yale and the few minutes of exercise in getting that couch in here," Lorelai claims. Luke sighs. "Luke, how long have you known me?"

"About ten years," Luke answers.

"And how many times in all those years have I only drunk two cups of coffee?" Luke thinks for a minute.

"I can't think of a time when you did that other than when you were pregnant," Luke recalls. Lorelai nods, giving him an 'I told you so' look. "Okay, let's go get you some black death." Lorelai giggles.

"Come on Marty, you want something?" Rory offers. She and Marty follow Luke and Lorelai out of the room and she pauses to lock the door.

"Sure, large coffee," Marty says. The four all walk over to the coffee cart. "So when is the wedding?" Marty asks Lorelai as they wait for their coffees.

"It's gonna be in October," Lorelai answers as a guy walks by and slams into Marty. "Hey!" Lorelai exclaims, grabbing Marty's arm and pulling him out of the way. The guy who walked into Marty pauses as well as his two friends.

"Sorry, Mate, didn't see ya there," the guys responds.

"Well then you should open your eyes, Helen Keller!" Lorelai shouts. Marty looks down at the ground.

"Hey lady, I said I was sorry, don't need to act like this is a federal crime," the guy defends himself.

"Oh hey, I know you," one of the guy's friends says, pointing at Marty. "You bartended one of my parties." Marty nods.

"Yup, actually a few of them, one time I almost ran out of alcohol," Marty remembers. The guy chuckles.

"That wouldn't surprise me. Hey…" the guy shakes his hand as he holds it out for Marty to shake.

"Marty. Marty Stevens." The guys shake hands.

"Good then. I'm Logan Huntzberger. That's Colin McCrae. And Mr. 'Helen Keller' is Finn," Logan responds, winking at Lorelai when he introduces Finn. Lorelai shudders. "He's klutzy when he's sober."

"Maybe it's because he's killed most of his brain cells already," Rory notes. Logan smirks and glances over at her.

"Well aren't we the quippy one?" Logan kids. Rory folds her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, this is Rory Gilmore," Marty tells Logan.

"It's nice to meet you, Rory Gilmore. I do apologize for disrupting this moment of family bonding. I'll be sure to keep Finn on a leash when he's not drunk from now on," Logan says. Rory purses her lips glancing from Colin to Finn to Logan.

"You didn't interrupt anything," Rory finally replies. "But tell Fido that he'd better find a hobby that doesn't include drinking before his liver revolts." Logan laughs. He glances over at Finn who nods sheepishly. Logan winks at Rory.

"Done. Well, see you around Rory Gilmore. Marty, I'll give you a call about the next party," Logan says, snapping and pointing at Marty. Logan and the other boys saunter away. Lorelai wrinkles her nose watching them walk away, but Rory seems to have a curious expression on her face. Luke hands the coffees to each of them taking a tea for himself. Lorelai takes a sip of her coffee, glancing at Rory, who still seems distant. She lightly touches her daughter's shoulder.

"Come on, we've got a lot more unpacking to do and Luke wants to get out of here before Paris the Terrible shows up," Lorelai tells Rory. Marty laughs.

"Rory, did I ever tell you that I like your mom?" Marty asks. Rory and Lorelai share a warm look.

"It's a common opinion," Lorelai boasts lightly. "Come on Handsome." She wraps her arm around Luke's as they walk away. Rory smiles to herself, glancing back where Logan walked off and then glances at Marty.


	92. Chapter 92

**Author's Note:** Yeah I haven't done one of these in awhile because school is keeping me quite busy. I do hope you'll forgive me for that. I just wanted to let you all know that things are actually winding down in this fic. After all this time, When Hearts Collide will be complete after this chapter and two more after that. Yes, I guess I understand from your reviews that you've been wanting more drama again, but I have to say I'm a little surprised. I thought that after months of drama, you'd appareciate a little bit of fluff before the end, and I planned a happy ending all along. What other way to do it, right? Anyways, I'll do all my thanking in the next chapter and then the final chapter.

* * *

**  
**

**Friday Night Dinner**

Lorelai pulls up in front of the house in the jeep. With the whole family coming to dinner, Luke's truck was deemed too small. Luke gets out of the jeep and opens the back to get Liam. April climbs out of the car carrying Olivia in her arms. But Lorelai still sits in the driver's seat, staring at the house. Luke opens the door. "Lorelai, come on," Luke says. Lorelai shakes her frowning. "Lorelai!"

"I can't. I don't want my last memory as a single daughter to be this, tonight. I can't imagine this going well," Lorelai complains. April gives Luke a worried look.

"Lorelai, get out. You're scaring April," Luke tells her. Lorelai gives Luke a pleading look. "Lorelai, I swear, you get out or I'm never ordering caffeinated coffee for the diner again!" Lorelai's eyes go wide. She instantly opens the car door and gets out, slamming it behind her.

"Here, I'll take her," Lorelai says, holding out her arms to April, who hands Olivia over. April gives the house a once over, slowly drawing in a deep breath. "You scared?" Lorelai whispers. April nods, wide-eyed. Lorelai puts her free arm around April comfortingly as they walk up to the door. "Still scared?" April nods again. "Aw, Hun…" Lorelai and Luke share a look, as Luke shakes his head in disappointment. "You know, when Rory was little and she was afraid to go inside my parents's house, I used to tell her fairytales to get her to agree to go inside."

"Fairytales?" April repeats. Lorelai nods, her eyes glittering. "And that worked?"

"She ate it up!" Lorelai responds.

"Oh." April swallows hard. "But aren't I a little old for fairytales?" she asks, looking up at Lorelai.

"Oh no, you're never too old for my fairytales!" Lorelai tells her.

"Lorelai, please make it G-rated," Luke warns. Lorelai laughs.

"Well of course!" Lorelai winks. She looks down at April. "You ready?" April nods. "Okay. Once upon a time there was this little girl with long dark hair and blue eyes."

"This wouldn't be you would it?" Luke wonders.

"Can it!" Lorelai snaps giving him a dirty look. She smiles back down at April. "She lived in this giant house with her parents. But she never saw them. They were too proper and the little girl – let's call her Belinda – she was not what you would call proper."

"Belinda?" Luke repeats.

"Belinda Carlisle," Lorelai responds.

"Ah."

"Who's…" April trails off as Luke shakes his head at her. Lorelai clears her throat turning the focus back on her.

"Anyways Belinda crept down the large staircase and snuck across the big front hall to find a door she had never really seen before. Belinda opened the door to find a huge winding staircase," Lorelai relays animatedly. "She slowly climbed the staircase, tiptoeing so that her Mary Janes didn't click on the floor. At the top of the stairs was this long narrow dusky hallway with two doors, one on either side. And Belinda paused, what door should she choose? Feeling the door to her left, she found it cold. Feeling the door to her right she found it warm. Knowing that cold always means bad, Belinda turned to her right and opened the door and instantly screamed and ran back down the hall, back down the stairs, back across the front hall, back up the large staircase and back into her room."

"What did she see in the room?" April asks.

"Her parents," Lorelai replies wickedly. "But they weren't human. You see she discovered that her parents were really snakes in human costumes."

"Snakes?" Luke repeats in disbelief.

"Yes, Burger Boy, snakes," Lorelai responds. "And Belinda decided never to go back up the winding staircase. She never went back to discover that in the other room was actually cases and cases of ice cream!" Lorelai smiles.

"Is this really a true story?" April asks Luke, who gives Lorelai a dirty look.

"You think that was a story that's not going to scare her from meeting your parents?" Luke asks Lorelai, who bites her lower lip and looks down, ashamed.

"What story did she tell?" Rory asks, walking up behind them.

"Hey Kid!" Lorelai exclaims, hugging Rory with her free arm. "It was the story with the snakes."

"And the room of ice cream?" Rory asks in disgust. Lorelai nods slowly.

"Bad choice?" Lorelai asks. Rory nods. "I could have told her the one about the singing star." Rory rolls her eyes.

"Let's just go in," Rory responds. Lorelai rings the doorbell. Emily opens the door.

"Lorelai and… come in," Emily stammers in response to realizing that there are more than two people on the other side of the door. She steps aside to allow Lorelai, Luke, April and Rory to enter. Emily stares at April for a moment. Luke and Lorelai share a look.

"Here, take the baby, babies make people smile," Lorelai says, trying to break the tension. She unloads Olivia into Emily's arms. Lorelai watches Emily hold Olivia uncomfortably, still seeming dazed by the amount of people in her foyer. "Obviously you are the exception to that rule as well," Lorelai notes. She glances down at April, who seems to have gone pale. She puts a comforting arm around April. "Mom, I'd like you to meet Luke's daughter, April. April, this is my mother, Nancy Reagan." She grins at Emily, who snaps out of her daze to glare at Lorelai. April looks up at Lorelai and gives her a small smile.

"Emily Gilmore, you may call me Emily," Emily says to April.

"It's nice to meet you Emily," April responds.

"Oh, would you like a tour?" Emily asks her.

"No she wouldn't," Lorelai answers quickly for April. Emily glares at Lorelai.

"Let the girl answer for herself. You are how old?" Emily questions April.

"Eleven?" April responds, nervously wondering how her age affects what comes next.

"You don't know?" Emily inquires snidely. Lorelai rolls her eyes.

"She's eleven." Lorelai looks down at April. "April, would you like to go a tour or would you like to go into the living room and sit next to your Dad and drink a glass of Coke?"

"Um, I'll go for the second choice," April responds. Lorelai nods and then nods at Emily.

"Fine," Emily says as if she couldn't care. "Follow me." Still carrying Olivia, Emily leads the group into the living room, where Richard stands by the minibar.

"Hi Dad," Lorelai greets him. "I'd like you to meet Luke's daughter, April. April this is my father, Richard." Emily rolls her eyes, settling herself into a chair.

"It's nice to meet you," April says politely. Luke winks at April.

"Soda?" Richard offers. April nods. "Rory, soda?"

"Yes, please," Rory accepts.

"So many people and you all arrived at the same time?" Richard asks in surprised.

"Well most of us came together. Everyone except Rory, but I think she's finally learned my timeliness," Lorelai explains.

"Or lateness," Rory mutters. Richard hands Rory and April sodas and Lorelai a martini and all the Gilmores and Danes's head over to the couches to sit. Richard sits on the opposite side of the room from Emily, neither looking in the other's direction. "Sorry I was late, I had to rush to finish an article before the deadline."

"You've had a lot of articles published in that paper of yours lately," Richard notes with pride.

"Oh only a few," Rory insists, blushing. "There was such a good response to my article on the Life and Death Brigade that I've been given such good spots ever since." Lorelai pats Rory's knee, proud of her eldest daughter. "Did you read that one?"

"Oh I did," Richard responds excitedly. "I remember hearing rumors of that club back when I was at Yale but I never really found any evidence that they exist. Truly amazing writing."

"You'll have to get me a copy," Emily snaps. Rory looks up sharply.

"Oh, uh, well Grampa can give you his," Rory suggests. She and Lorelai share a tense look.

"Don't worry, we'll get you one," Lorelai says, flinging her hand like it's no problem, her engagement ring sending light beams around the room.

"So, only one more week," Emily notes. Lorelai looks alarmed.

"For…?" Emily looks pointedly at Lorelai's ring. Lorelai follows her gaze. "Oh, right, yeah, only one more week!" Lorelai shakes her head, not understanding her own confusion. She looks over at Luke and smiles.

"You say that so lightly Lorelai, I'm amazed," Emily notes. Lorelai breaks her gaze with Luke to look over at Emily.

"Well I never cease to amaze," Lorelai quips.

"I'm just surprised is all. After so many attempts to get to this point, I'm just shocked that you're not worried that this time you may actually have to go through with it," Emily says. Lorelai arches an eyebrow.

"I'm not worried. I want to go through with it," Lorelai responds evenly. Emily snorts. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it's supposed to mean Lorelai? You've really worked hard at keeping a straight face this time, you've really become quite the little actress, you could give Greta Garbo a run for her money," Emily retorts.

"Don't you mean Elizabeth Taylor?" Lorelai responds snidely.

"No, Elizabeth Taylor actually got married all those times. Of course, like you, she never loved all those men," Emily comments. Lorelai takes a deep breath.

"Rory, please take April and the twins out of the room," Lorelai says somberly, not taking her eyes from Emily. Rory shares a look with Luke and walks over to take Olivia from Emily. She motions for April to follow her and Luke squeezes April's shoulder, handing Liam over before she leaves. "I know you find it hard to believe that after all this time, I can grow up. That I can mature and I didn't need your help to do it. But I did. I'm an adult now. I raised a daughter almost completely on my own. I got us a nice home. I opened a highly rated inn. And I fell in love with a wonderful man."

"That shows maturity?" Emily asks. Lorelai just stares back. "It proves nothing."

"What does it take to prove it to you!" Lorelai shouts, jumping to her feet. "I mean it, what does it take? Does it take me walking down the aisle? Does it take me paying for the twins to go to college on my own? Or does it take me paying for my own funeral when I die? What does it take? Tell me Mom, what does it take?"

"Don't raise your voice to me young lady," Emily snaps.

"I'm not a young lady Mother! I'm 36, that's what I'm trying to get through to you!" Lorelai cries.

"Lorelai, just…" Luke begins, reaching for her hand but she throws him off.

"No." She looks over at Luke. "No, we're getting this over with and we're doing this now. I'm not letting her ruin my wedding day." Luke nods. "Go check on the kids." Luke stands.

"You sure?" Luke makes sure, touching her elbow. Lorelai nods. "Okay." He glances at Richard, who eagerly follows him out of the room. Lorelai turns back to face Emily, her hands on her hips.

"Okay Mom, this is it, final showdown at the OK corral," Lorelai states.

"Lorelai, I don't want to argue with you. I'm tired. I'm old. I haven't the desire to take this verbal abuse from you tonight," Emily says tiredly. Lorelai huffs.

"Well you're going to have to because otherwise it's going to happen on October 17th and I want to have the perfect wedding day," Lorelai insists. Emily stands.

"In order to have the perfect wedding day, you would actually have to attend," Emily notes.

"You really think I'm going to do that? After all of this? The twins? The depression? The huge fight? You think after going though all of that I'm just going to walk away from him?"

"I really don't know Lorelai. You had no problem easily walking away from Max Medina when you were engaged and he was Rory's teacher. He could have provided for you," Emily notes.

"I didn't need him to provide for me. I needed to marry someone I loved and I didn't love him."

"But you agreed to marry him?" Emily asks. Lorelai sighs.

"One of my worse mistakes," Lorelai mutters.

"And then you break it off with Christopher, Rory's father, who could have given you a family."

"Mom!" Lorelai screams in shock. "I thought you were on my side about that!"

"You forced him. You cheated on him!" Emily exclaims.

"I cannot believe this!" Lorelai exclaims. "What happened to the whole, I'm sorry Lorelai, I should have protected you Lorelai?"

"I should have, but doesn't mean what happened wasn't mostly your fault!" Emily cries, enraged.

"He hit me! Christopher lifted his hands and hit me! He could have killed me!"

"If you were that upset by it, if you really felt it wasn't your fault, he would be out of your life. You would have cut him off like you once cut us off," Emily responds coldly.

"He's still Rory's father. I did it for her."

"I thought Luke had replaced him in that respect. I thought Luke was the perfect gentleman, everyone's savior, who came in on his big white horse saved you," Emily says snidely.

"Luke is. He's wonderful. And he's Rory's dad but we're both willing to let Rory have a relationship with Chris if that's what she wants. It's all up to her and I wanted to give her the freedom to make that decision."

"So now you think that everything's perfect because she's happy and Chris is happy and you've got your wonderful white knight dinerman."

"What happened to I just want to be your mother? Please open up to me Lorelai? What happened to I just want you to be happy? Or is that something else I can add to this list of sentences I can never believe came out of your mouth?" Lorelai spits out.

"I do want you to be happy. I just don't want you thinking that he's more than he is. He's just a simple man who runs a diner. Which means that he has time to take care of the kids and help you whenever you get into one of your crazy situations. Which means that he has nothing to offer you except life's simplicities which may seem wonderful but that's all there is." Lorelai scoffs.

"I can't believe…" Lorelai shakes her head in amazement. She looks up at Emily forlornly. "Luke can offer me the only thing I need from him, his love. He's the only man who's ever loved me in every way, for all of me, because of and in spite of my faults."

"Sounds lovely," Emily responds sarcastically.

"Well I don't really care what you think of Luke. Because I love him and he makes me happy. I'm going to be the one spending the rest of my life with him, not you."

"Thank God for that," Emily mutters.

"I just…" Lorelai sighs. "I just want you to be happy for me. I just want you to say you're proud of my life and mean it. I just want you to be my mother but you've never been, and it hurts. All I want is to come here and know that I'm not going to leave hurting from the comments thrown at me about how my life is a disaster. I just want you to love me for me and not wish that I could be Miss Perfect Socialite DAR Daughter."

"I'll never stop wishing you could have been that. You could have had more than you have, but you walked away from that. And I'll never stop wishing that hadn't happened," Emily responds. Lorelai takes a deep breath, both trying to breathe through the tension in the room. They stare at each other, the room standing still for a minute. Luke walks in.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Gilmore is complaining that the food is getting cold and I need to get April back to Anna's by 10," Luke interrupts. Emily and Lorelai share one last look before Lorelai turns around and smiles softly at Luke.

"Okay," Lorelai responds, relieved to be done with this.

"Fine," Emily says simply, brushing by Luke as she walks out.

"Mom," Lorelai calls, stopping Emily in her tracks. Emily slowly turns to look at Lorelai. "You should come to the party. My bachelorette party. I mean, you can come, if you want." She smiles softly. "Just call Sookie, she's making all the plans." Emily nods slowly.

"That sounds fine," Emily says, nicer than anything she's said in a little while. She nods to Luke and walks out. Luke walks over and takes Lorelai's hands in his. She takes a deep breath, slowly looking up into his eyes.

"Thank you," she says softly. Luke cocks his head, not understanding. "Thank you for being my white knight." Luke smiles softly.

"That's why you keep me around," he jokes. Lorelai throws her arms around his neck, laying her head against his chest. Luke wraps his arms around her waist.

"No, this is why I keep you around," she whispers holding tight to him.


	93. Chapter 93

**Author's Note:** So, one more chapter after this, I hope you've enjoyed the ride. I want to really thank everyone who's supported me through out the writing and posting process, all the readers and especially the reviewers. You guys are what keeps me writing (as well as my need for these two to find get over themselves and just get married, but anyways this is not to reflect on the real show). I hope that you've appreciated what I tried to do with this story, I'm glad you beared with me through all the drama so that I can finally get Luke and Lorelai to next chapter's pinnacle moment.

The sequel I was talking about has been put on hold. It was supposed to be set 5 years after this fic. We will see about that in the future. Maybe. Maybe not. If you have an opinion, feel free to share.

* * *

**A Strip Bar in Litchfield**

Luke, TJ, Tony, Jess, Kirk and Jackson walk inside. Luke glances around at the place, not seeming entirely excited about being there. "Wow, this is a nice joint," Luke grumps. Tony slaps his friend on the back.

"Just give it a chance," Tony says. Luke gives Tony a disgusted look. "Hey, remember the place you took me to before I married Angela?"

"Oh, yeah," Luke recalls. "Why didn't we go there?"

"It was closed down at year later," Tony replies, smirking. Luke nods. "Come on, let's get a good table."

"There are bad tables?" TJ asks in amazement. Tony gives TJ a strange look.

"Okay, well, how about over here?" Luke suggests, waving an arm towards a table.

"You couldn't care less, could you?" Tony wonders. Luke shrugs. "Here I am, planning ahead, making sure I found the best strip joint for your bachelor party, and you would rather just sit at home drinking beer and watching the baseball playoffs."

"Well, you know me," Luke responds.

"But Luke, there's women here. Naked!" TJ exclaims.

"Yeah, I believe that's the point of a strip joint," Luke deadpans.

"It's your last chance to be bachelor Luke; to watch women strip and get a lap dance," Tony reminds him.

"Not really, I mean I have Lorelai."

"True. And that is one fine looking woman," TJ notes. Jess looks disgusted.

"TJ, you stay away from my woman," Luke warns. TJ raises his hands in submission.

"I'm just saying, Lorelai's hot. She's nice to look at. That's all I'm saying," TJ responds.

"Well I'm the only one who gets to do the looking. Stay away from her," Luke demands, shaking a finger in TJ's face.

"Okay, okay!" Tony exclaims, grabbing Luke's arm and pulling him away from TJ.

"Hey, I can't help it if he's threatened by my manliness," TJ insists. Luke snorts.

"Doubtful," Jess mutters under his breath.

"Come on, let's sit," Tony says, pulling out a chair and pushing Luke into it. He sits down next to Luke and the others sit around the table as well. "A round of beers," Tony calls over to the waitress. She nods and walks away. "The show doesn't actually start for an hour."

"Oh man, I'm gonna have to miss it," Kirk whines. Luke looks at him curiously. "I convinced my mother to set my curfew at midnight, an hour later than usual. How did I know that this thing wouldn't be starting until 11?" Jess shakes his head in amazement.

"Should I bother?" Tony mutters to Luke under his breath. Luke chuckles. "So you really don't like strip bars?" Luke shrugs. "Don't you think Lorelai's going to do something equal tonight?"

"Lorelai is probably going to get so drunk tonight that she won't even remember what she's seen so I'm not worried," Luke comments, folding his arms in front of him. The waitress walks over with a tray of beers and begins setting one down in front of each one of them.

"That's why you guys planned this a few days before the wedding?" Tony asks. Luke nods.

"Lorelai likes her alcohol," Jackson notes. Luke nods, glancing at his watch.

"She's probably halfway gone by now," he says, smiling to himself. Jess chuckles to himself into his beer. Tony smirks, shaking his head at Luke. "What?" Luke asks.

"You. You're getting married. You're settling down," Tony responds. Luke raises an eyebrow.

"So? You did it. Or was two beers enough to make you forget Angela?" Luke kids. Tony shakes his head.

"No, but you never seemed the marrying type." Luke looks down, trying to hide his smile. "You know, the night you brought her to my place, I could tell."

"Tell what?"

"That there was something different about this one. That there was something different about you," Tony answers. Luke grins. "She's really something, isn't she?" Luke nods.

"She really is," Luke agrees, shaking his head in amazement.

"She'd have to be after you pined for her for half a century," Jess mutters. Tony glances over at Jess and then back at Luke and smirks. Luke glowers. Tony chuckles, slapping Luke on the back.

"Man, you're taken," Tony says. Luke looks up at Tony, giving him a sobering look.

"Not. Yet," Luke responds, picking up his beer and drinking it down. Everyone at the table watches him, wondering what he could possibly mean by that response. Luke finishes his beer, wipes his mouth off with the back of his hand and glances at the stage. "So, still not time yet?" Tony grins.

"See, I knew you'd like it. It's a bachelor party tradition, right Jackson?" Tony says, glancing at Jackson, who shrugs.

"I wouldn't know. See we were supposed to go to a strip club for my bachelor party, but my brother Beau showed up, already drunk, and instantly puked all over me and that was the beginning and end of my bachelor party," Jackson explains. Jess tries to hide his smile by drinking.

"At least you got married, I don't think Mother's ever going to say yes to letting Lulu marry me until I turn fifty," Kirk complains, causing Jess to snort, almost choking on his beer. Luke lifts one eye over at Jess and they share an amused look.

"Well at my bachelor party, there were strippers. Boy were there strippers. Wrestling. Almost naked. Best night of my life!" TJ exclaims. "Including you two dueling," he adds, glancing first at Jess and then at Luke. Tony gives Luke a surprised look.

"You did what?" Tony asks. Luke shakes his head, not really wanting to talk about it. Just then Jess's cell phone goes off. He picks it up, looking a little confused at the number. "Come on Luke, tell me," Tony begs.

"No, I said no," Luke maintains.

"Luke," Jess calls from across the table, waving the cell phone in his head. "It's for you." Luke looks confused as Jess tosses the phone over the table into Luke's hands.

"This is Luke," Luke says into the phone. Hearing the voice on the other side, a smile spreads across his face. "One sec." He glances back at the guys, taking the phone away from his mouth. "Excuse me." He picks the phone back up and walks away from the table. Tony glances over at Jess, who answers Tony's silent question with a nod.

**Meanwhile at a bar in Woodbridge**

Sookie opens the door, allowing Rory and Lorelai to enter first. Rory has her arm wrapped through Lorelai's as Lorelai giggles incessantly, all thoughts centered on balancing the tiara on her head. Liz, Lulu, Patty and Babette file in behind. Liz glances around at the place. "What is this?" Liz asks in disgust.

"A martini bar," Sookie responds, leading the group over to a big table in the corner. Liz rolls her eyes.

"Yes, that was a obvious statement," Liz responds, waving her hand at the sign that reads The Dirty Martini.

"You asked," Sookie mutters and Rory helps Lorelai into a chair and sits down next to her.

"I'm just saying this is a bachelorette party. There should be strippers, naked men, that kind of thing," Liz insists.

"Oh, well Lorelai had that option, one of three," Sookie responds, raising three fingers. "Martini bar, stripper, or Atlantic City." Sookie points to a finger as she lists off each option.

"Atlantic City, now there's an idea," Patty notes.

"Can't," Sookie quickly replies. She points at Rory. "Too young."

"You're not 21?" Liz asks. Rory blushes, a sheepish smile on her face.

"In a year," she answers.

"Wow, you look older," Liz comments.

"That's cuz Lorelai was worried she wouldn't pass for 21, so she made us dress her up a bit," Babette answers. Rory covers her face with her hand, completely embarrassed now.

"And a stripper is useless because Lorelai drank 2 large margaritas before leaving her house," Sookie informs them. Patty laughs.

"That's our Lorelai," Patty says.

"I don't need a stripper, I have Luke," Lorelai claims, grinning. "And he looks good naked!" Liz closes her eyes, shaking her head. "Those long buff arms, his muscular chest, tight buns."

"Mom!" Rory exclaims, clamping a hand over Lorelai's mouth. But Lorelai just keeps smiling, her eyes twinkling as she thinks of Luke. Sookie shakes her head as the waitress walks over.

"Cosmo," Sookie says pointing to herself. "Cosmo, apple martini, chocolate martini, regular martini, virgin something, dirty martini," she finishes, pointing to Liz, Lulu, Patty, Babette, Rory, and Lorelai in order.

"Dirty," Lorelai hisses, giggling to herself. "Oh and extra cherries!" The waitress nods and walks away. "You know, when I was in high school, my nickname was dirty martini."

"That does not surprise me," Patty notes.

"Who called you that?" Rory asks. Liz reaches across the table and quickly grabs Rory's arm.

"You really want to ask that?" Liz asks.

"Ask what?" Emily wonders walking up to the table.

"Whether we should have ordered one or two martinis for Lorelai," Sookie answers quickly, giving Lorelai a settling look to keep her friend from answering. "Glad you could make it Mrs. Gilmore."

"Scoots," Lorelai says to Rory, who shoves over, Lorelai too, so that Emily can sit down next to Lorelai. Emily sits down stiffly, glancing around in abhorrence. She looks over at Lorelai who smiles wickedly. "Come on Mom, we're partying like it's 1999 and it's a damn fine time."

"Lorelai, don't be coarse," Emily responds simply. The waitress walks up setting the drinks in front of each of them including a large bowl of cherries in front of Lorelai.

"Can I get you something?" she asks Emily.

"Oh get her gin, straight, vermouth is unnecessary," Lorelai kids, wrapping an arm around Emily, who seems uncomfortable with this gesture. Emily looks over at Rory, who seems pleased that they're not fighting for once.

"I'll have a cosmopolitan, please," Emily tells the waitress. Lorelai snorts, folding her arms on the table in front of her, munching on cherries as she pouts.

"A cosmopolitan," Lorelai repeats in a stuffy rich person's voice. "So serious." Emily gives Lorelai a look. The waitress nods and walks away.

"Gramma, I'm glad you came," Rory says, trying to draw Emily's focus away from Lorelai. Emily forces a smile for Rory's sake.

"I was glad to oblige your mother's heartfelt request," Emily replies. Patty raises an eyebrow, glancing at Sookie.

"Emily, I think you haven't met Liz, Luke's sister," Sookie comments, pointing to Liz.

"Hi Mrs. Gilmore, Luke says your house is huge," Liz says, holding out her hand. Emily raises an eyebrow.

"Well I'm pleased that was the most important impression I've made on Luke," Emily responds. Liz quickly puts her hand down, glancing at Sookie nervously.

"Oh, I can assure that's not true, Mother. You've certainly impressed him with your ability to suck all the warmth out of a room," Lorelai says, smiling like it's a joke. "Seriously, I swear the room dropped 80 degrees the moment you stepped into it."

"Lorelai," Sookie warns softly. Rory casts a worried look at Emily, who is staring down at the table.

"What?" Lorelai glances at Emily. "Oh, Mom, I'm just kidding. Luke thinks you're the greatest, the best. He says that I-"

"Mom!" Rory exclaims, clamping a hand hard on her mother's mouth. "I'm urging you to stop right there." She and Lorelai stare at each other a moment, before Rory slowly moves her hand. Lorelai and Sookie share a look and then Lorelai quietly picks up her martini and downs it and pops a cherry in her mouth..

"I'm gonna go get another," Lorelai announces, standing up. She grabs her purse and the last cherry and drunkenly trips over to the bar. Rory and Sookie watch her for a moment before turning back to the conversation that has begun around them.

"You know what this party really needs?" Patty says.

"What's that Patty?" Babette asks.

"Michel. Dancing. With drag queens." They all laugh.

Lorelai glances over at them and takes out her cell phone and dials. Rory is still watching Lorelai and notices what she's doing. "I'll be right back," Rory says quietly, leaving the group with no one really noticing. Rory walks over to Lorelai, who's grinning as she chats on the phone. Lorelai glances over at her as she walks over. "Give me that!" Rory exclaims, taking the phone from Lorelai and shutting it closed.

"Rory!" Lorelai exclaims.

"Mom! What were you thinking?!" Lorelai scoffs.

"I just wanted to talk to your dad!"

"And that really helped during your last bachelorette party," Rory reminds Lorelai, who narrows her eyes in bewilderment.

"Talking to Luke?" Lorelai wonders. Rory gasps, her mouth dropping open. "Rory, please guide me through the labyrinth in your mind. How did Luke affect what happened with Max?" Rory looks down, ashamed.

"You were calling Luke," Rory realizes in a low voice. Lorelai cocks her head waiting for an explanation. "I thought you meant Chris."

"Hope you didn't bet it all on that one," Lorelai quips. Rory smiles softly, looking up at Lorelai proudly.

"You were calling Luke," she repeats pleased with the idea. Lorelai still doesn't get what Rory did, giving Rory a strange look. Rory shrugs. "You called Chris last time."

"Well, Rory, if you remember, there was a reason I didn't marry Max," Lorelai notes. "Max and I were like apples and oranges while Luke and I are like peaches and cream." Rory raises an eyebrow.

"Dirty?" Rory asks.

"That's my girl!" Lorelai wraps an arm around Rory's shoulder, squeezing her close. Rory shakes her head. She opens the phone and presses redial.

"Hi, I just wanted to say sorry, here's Mom," Rory says into the phone and hands it over to Lorelai, who gives Rory a grateful smile and takes the phone.

"Hey Doll," Lorelai coos into the phone.

"Hey again, what was that about?" Luke asks.

"Just my daughter letting me know she doesn't think you're Jerry Blake," Lorelai responds, winking at Rory.

"Good to know," Luke answers. He glances over his shoulder at Tony, who's motioning at him. "Anyways, glad to know everything's all right there. Try not to drink away all your brain cells tonight."

"Aw, it's so sweet that you care," Lorelai teases, blushing all the same.

"Well, if my kids are gonna use you as a role model, it would help if you appeared smart," Luke responds. Tony's motioning like mad. "I gotta go, the strippers are ready."

"Give 'em a dollar from me, will ya?" Lorelai says.

"Will do," Luke assures her. He hangs up. Lorelai closes the phone, curling her hand around it, holding it against her chin as she smiles to herself. Rory beams.

"Hey Mom," Rory says. Lorelai glances over at her daughter. "You seem happy." Lorelai nods.

"I am, Kid. I finally truly am," Lorelai says softly.


	94. Chapter 94

**Author's Note:** And here it is the FINAL chapter of When Hearts Collide. I haven't decided about a sequel yet, it's all still up in the air. But I hope you all like this final chapter. I've appreciated all your kind reviews over the course, it's really what kept me writing most of the time.

On another note, it's true that Luke and Lorelai are not in this same place on the real show, but I believe that they will get there. If you still look at the two of them, maybe not now because they haven't had a scene together in awhile, but if you still remember what it once was like and know that it can be like that again, then have faith. This will be Luke and Lorelai's endgame.

* * *

**The Dragonfly Inn**

Lorelai walks into the inn with Rory following behind her, the dress in her arms. She glances around at all the white, cream and gold decorations in awe. The lilies in similar color decorate the room. "Wow," Lorelai whispers. Rory watches her mom, pleased with the job she and Sookie have done. "Rory, this is amazing."

"Well, it's what you and Sookie planned," Rory tells her. Lorelai shakes her head in amazement.

"No," Lorelai says, awe in her voice. "This is nothing like I could have imagined."

"Well go look around, I'm going to go take your dress upstairs and get my hair done. Come up before soon before Dad gets here." Lorelai nods, still in a daze. Rory reaches up on her tip toes and kisses her mother's cheek. "You deserve this Mom." Rory walks away. Lorelai glances around the front hall and parlor for a moment. She walks into the dining room and out the back into the heated white tent. Glancing down at her feet, she sees the white carpet on leading her to her destination. Treading carefully, Lorelai slowly walks up to the chuppah. She breathes in slowly, smelling the cool crisp air.

Noticing Gilbert, Lorelai walks over to her favorite goat. "Hey there, Gil, long time no talk," she jokes. Then she shakes her head at herself. "Won't Luke be overjoyed to know his new wife talks to wooden goats." She giggles. Reaching up, she runs her fingers over Gilbert. She sobers, just gazing at the goat. "You think this is it this time? I've finally found it? The One?" She purses her lips, nodding. "He said that marriage is good if you find that one person who can put up with everything and loves you in spite of it. He was talking about himself, wasn't he?" She smiles to himself. "He loved me all along. He is The One. That's why you're here. Just waiting for me to finally figure it out, what was right there the whole time." She sighs. "I should have listened to you last time. I was only hurting him by ignoring what was right there, by not telling him what I already knew, and you already know, that we are meant to be together."

Folding her arms over her chest, Lorelai glances up at the sky. "Snow," she begs softly. Closing her eyes, Lorelai stands still for a moment, just feeling the wind blow around her. And suddenly she feels it. Touching her cheek softly, Lorelai smiles. And she opens her eyes to see a few more flakes. "I didn't know I could do that," Lorelai comments. She looks over at Gilbert. "Thanks." She winks and pulls her coat tighter and walks back down the aisle into the inn.

Lorelai walks quickly through the dining room and parlor and runs up the stairs. "Rory!" she yells. "It's time!" Rory steps out of a room at the end of the hall. Lorelai stops in her tracks, seeing the lack of expression on her face. "What?" Rory motions Lorelai over to her. With trepidation, Lorelai walks down the hall and looks in the room. In the room stand Liz and Sookie in golden dresses. April is on the ground playing with Olivia and Liam. Behind on all of them, on the wall hangs Lorelai's wedding dress and Lorelai gasps. She looks over at Rory taking a deep breath, not smiling.

"You ready?" Rory asks. Lorelai glances back at the dress, a smile slowly creeping over her face.

"Yes," Lorelai answers with certainty. She walks in the room. "Hey Rory, is it going to be like Cinderella? Are the birds going to tie ribbons in my hair?" Rory sighs, rolling her eyes, closing the door behind Lorelai.

* * *

Luke stands at the end of the aisle, looking only a little nervous. The minister glances over at him. "You ready?" the minister asks. Luke is staring down the aisle as if waiting for something to happen. Startled by the minister's voice, Luke glances over at the minister.

"Yeah, I've been ready for a long time," Luke answers firmly. The minister nods.

"Good man," the minister replies. He nods to Morey to begin the music. Luke folds his hands behind his back, looking back down the aisle.

The procession begins with April pushing Olivia and Liam down the aisle in a decorated stroller. She never takes her eyes off of Luke the whole time as he beams down at his children. Reaching the end of the aisle, April hands Liam to Emily, who sits in the front row, and hands Olivia to Babette, who sits behind Emily. She sets the stroller on the side and stands in front, looking across the aisle at Luke, who winks at her.

Rory and Jess walk down next, Rory's arms wrapped around Jess. Luke shakes his head, smiling to himself, realizing that he had known all along Lorelai was lying just to get the 5 dollars from him. They both knew there was no way Rory would walk down the aisle on Kirk's arm. When they reach the end, Rory goes to stand next to April and Jess next to Luke, each receiving a nod from Luke.

Liz and Kirk walk down next. And finally Sookie and Tony walk down the aisle.

After a moment, Morey changes his tune and everyone shifts in their chairs to get a look at Lorelai as she stands at the end of the aisle, her arm through Richard's. Richard glances at Lorelai, who is staring straight ahead, not necessarily at Luke, her face pale and expressionless. "You ready?" Richard asks Lorelai, but she doesn't respond. He tries to get them moving down the aisle but Lorelai's frozen in place. "Lorelai?" Richard looks down at the aisle at Luke, giving him a helpless look.

Luke motions for Morey to keep playing as he leaves his place and walks down the aisle to Lorelai. When he reaches her, Lorelai breaks her gaze from nothing to look up at him. Luke gently grasps her elbows. "You okay?" he asks softly. Lorelai nods slowly. "You still want to get married?" She nods again, not taking her eyes from Luke's. "Okay." Luke looks over at Richard, pressing his lips together as if apologizing for what he's about to do. "Do you mind?" Richard looks over at Lorelai, who's still staring up at Luke, adoration in her eyes. Richard nods and steps back. Luke takes Richard's place, looping Lorelai's arm through his and clasping their hands together. Richard nods again, a hint of understanding in his eyes.

"You take care of her, Son," Richard says to Luke.

"I will," Luke promises. Richard kisses Lorelai's cheek and then walks down the aisle to sit next to Emily, taking Olivia from Babette when he sits down. Luke looks over at Lorelai. "This better?" Lorelai nods.

"Let's get married," she says softly. Morey starts the song over again as Luke guides Lorelai down the aisle. Rory grins knowing how in love Luke and Lorelai are.

* * *

Nearing the end of the ceremony, the minister allows Luke and Lorelai the chance to say something personal. Luke decides to go first.

"Lorelai, I think I've told you time and again about how I knew we belonged together the moment you walked into my diner that day. But I realize now, I never told you what it was about you that brought on this realization. I'll tell you. It was your eyes. Many will agree that your eyes are amazing, blue, crystalline, sparkling when happy, soulful when sad. But to me they reveal so much more than that. The moment I looked in your eyes I could see all of this. I could see you and me together. I could see us in love. I could see me protecting you from everything and you being there for me for all of our days. And I could see our family, no specifics but I could see us having a family. Being in one of those homes one could always dream of with you and me and the kids. And now, with Rory, April, Liam and Olivia, we finally have it. We have everything. And now when I look in your eyes, I no longer see the future, I see the truth. That what I saw the moment I first met you, was fate. We belong together Lorelai." Lorelai gasps, a tear running down her cheek.

"Oh I so wish you had let me go first," Lorelai whispers. Luke chuckles. He motions for her to go on and Lorelai takes a deep breath. "Okay, okay." She looks down, gathering her thoughts and then looks up into Luke's eyes. "Well for anyone who has ever known me even a little bit, it is well known I love movies. I've loved them for so long. I think it started as an obsession back when I was a child and it just grew. And just recently I've realized that the movies I like best are the ones with those couples in them. You know, the ones that are meant to be. The ones that fate has chosen for them to be together. And I think I've always wanted to be like them, to be in one of those kind of couples. And I finally have it. I do. Luke, we're meant to be. There's something magical that brought me to Stars Hollow and made me go into your diner that day, I mean other than coffee." Lorelai winks and then sobers. "Those couples. Rick and Isla. Han and Leia. Harry and Sally. Lady and the Tramp. Not that I think that you're a tramp," Lorelai adds nervously. "Those couples. They belong together. We belong together Luke." The minister nods.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the minister says. Luke can't wait for the minister to give permission. He cups Lorelai's face in his hands kissing her softly. Lorelai responds, wrapping one arm around his neck and one around his back. Luke moves his to her shoulders and lower back as they kiss deeply. Pulling back flushed and smiling.

"I love you Luke Danes," Lorelai whispers.

"I love you too, Lorelai Danes," Luke responds.

* * *

After the wedding, everyone gathers in the Dragonfly dining room, many just wanting to be inside to get out of the cold. Lorelai grabs Luke's hand before they walk inside and motions for her to follow him. They walk back down the aisle, holding hands, fingers interlaced, to stand under the chuppah. The snow falls from the sky around them. "You remember when you made me the chuppah?" Lorelai asks. Luke nods. "Did you ever imagine it would be first used for our own wedding?"

"I dreamed that it would, but never did I imagine that my dreams would become a reality," Luke replies. In response, Lorelai cups the back of Luke's head, pulling his lips to hers, kissing him tenderly.

"I just wanted a moment for us now that we're actually husband and wife," Lorelai tells him. Luke nods. "Let's go in and greet." Smiling, Luke squeezes Lorelai's hand.

The newlyweds walk inside to greet their guests. The reception goes on beautifully. Everyone compliments Sookie on her food selections. They all have a great time just talking and telling stories. After the meal, Lorelai and Luke sit at the front table, just enjoying the company. Lorelai holds Olivia in her arms and Luke holds Liam, in their free hands, they clasp each other's hand.

Tony and Sookie each give speeches. Finally Rory stands. "Hey everyone. I'm not the maid of honor and certainly not the best man, but I wanted to make a toast as the eldest child of Luke and Lorelai Danes. Most of you know that I'm not actually Luke's daughter, which is obvious considering my last name is Gilmore and I was eleven years old the first time I met Luke. But that doesn't mean anything. What we have witnessed today is the creation of a family. A mom and dad coming together with four children, a truly amazing family. But what's even more incredible is the relationship between my mom and dad. I've never seen two people so in love, who belong together so much, who are truly meant to be as much as my mom and dad. I can only hope to one day find that person who can compliment me as my dad does my mom. I remember when Liam and Olivia were born, my mom joked that if they called Olivia Livvie, then all four of them would have L names. Luke, Lorelai, Liam and Livvie. And she said she didn't want to be like the Spencers. And it reminded me of a quote I once heard about Luke and Laura Spencer. Anthony Geary said that 'she was his angel and he was her hero and for some reason that never changed'." Luke and Lorelai smile at each other, remembering their jokes about being like the Spencers.

"Yeah, he's my own Clark Kent," Lorelai kids, squeezing Luke's hand.

"It's true. That is what they are to each other. And I know that will never change. Mom, Dad, I just want to say congratulations and I feel lucky to be a part of our family," Rory finishes.

"Oh Honey," Lorelai whispers, tears in her eyes as she reaches her arms out to Rory, who walks over and hugs Lorelai. Then Rory moves on to hug Luke, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you Dad," she whispers in his ear.

"I love you too, Rory," Luke answers.

"All right already, stop making me nauseous, let's get this party started!" Babette yells.

"Well I guess it's time for our dance," Lorelai says to Luke. He stands, handing Liam over to Rory and Lorelai hands Olivia over to April. Luke reaches a hand to Lorelai. She takes his as she stands, following him out to the dance floor.

_True Companion _plays as Lorelai and Luke dance as husband and wife, closer than they've danced before. Her arm around his back and his holding her close against her lower back. Their other hands clasped, fingers intertwining. Her head on his chest, his face leaning down into her hair. They slowly move to the music, letting the words and melody circle around them and they hold each other close.

As the music ends, Lorelai tilts her face upward, placing a soft kiss on Luke's lips. She pulls away from him, wiping a tear from her cheek. Glancing over at Richard, she beckons for her father. Richard becomes flustered by his daughter's request but happily acquiesces. Chuck Berry's _Beautiful Delilah_ plays as Lorelai holds out her hands to Richard. "Daddy, will you dance with me?" she asks softly. Richard, too choked up to answer, just nods. He takes Lorelai's hands and they begin to dance. Luke, in turn, walks over to Emily.

"Emily, may I have this dance?" Luke asks, offering his hand to her. Emily seems a little taken aback by Luke's suggestion but places her hand in his. Lorelai glances over at Luke and winks and then turns her attention back to Richard.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to walk me down the aisle," Lorelai tells him. Richard's lips curve into a smile as he holds his daughter close.

"Lorelai, you're 36 years old. You stopped being my child years ago. You didn't need me to give you away," Richard answers. Lorelai nods.

"Still, I'm glad you wanted to."

"I just wanted to be here, to show you that I'm not the least bit disappointed in the way things turned out. I'm proud of you Lorelai. You've really become something, not what I would have planned 36 years ago, but I can still say that my daughter is successful and happy and the mother of three children and that's enough," Richard tells her. Lorelai blushes, pleased with her father's words.

"Thank you Daddy," Lorelai whispers softly, laying her head on his shoulder. Richard holds her against him, his heart full.

"I'm not exactly sure why you wanted to dance with me Luke," Emily says stiffly, holding Luke a distance from her.

"It's tradition. Besides, I wanted to tell you that no matter what you think of me, I am going to make your daughter happier than she could ever imagine," Luke promises. Emily looks up at him, doubt in her eyes. "I thought you were giving her and me a chance."

"I tried. It didn't work. I'm sorry Luke, but I truly feel that Lorelai deserves more than what you can offer her. And no matter how hard I try, that will never change," Emily responds coldly.

"Don't you want your daughter to be happy?"

"You think that Lorelai can be happy with the simple life but she can't, she won't. She belongs in my world. She'd be happier in my world. Marrying you is holding her back. She could have everything, she deserves everything." Luke glances over at Lorelai, content in her father's arms. Emily follows his gaze.

"How is it that he can be so proud of her?" Luke wonders.

"Because he's willing to settle," Emily responds. "Because he's given up." Luke sighs, just wishing the dance would end soon. "Luke, I want you to know I'm letting it go. I may not like the path she's chosen and the moment she realizes she could have more, I'll be right there waiting, but I promise, I won't push her along." Luke gives her a hard look.

"I want you to know that you can't use me to stay in her good graces. You can't pretend to like me just to get her to like you and then the moment she hesitates for a moment, you're right there telling her awful things about me. I won't let that happen," Luke responds. Emily stares up at Luke. She nods shortly as the song ends. They quickly separate. Luke walks over to Lorelai, taking her back from Richard.

"You and my mother work things out?" Lorelai asks. Luke smirks.

"See I knew you were funny," Luke answers. Lorelai snickers and kisses him. "Another dance?" Luke suggests as _A Groovy Kind of Love_ begins and many other guests fill the dance floor.

"Let's get the kids out here," Lorelai suggests. They walk over to Rory and April. "Come on guys, shake a tail feather!" She takes Liam from Rory and April hands Olivia over to Luke. Rory looks down at April who shrugs. They follow Luke and Lorelai out onto the dance floor. Taking each other's hand, Luke and Lorelai dance with the twins as Rory spins April around nearby.

Though the dance floor fills with the guests at the wedding, all that seems clear to Lorelai are Luke, Rory, April, Olivia and Liam. She was once the child of Richard and Emily Gilmore, a rebel in her own kind, sneaking out and disobeying the rules. From the moment Rory was born, Lorelai became a changed person, but the person she thought she could depend on, Christopher, disappeared. It would be years before he came back into her life, all the while Lorelai would grow and mature and change from being the person she once was as a wild sixteen year old. She would be so unlike that original person that when Christopher came back to her, she could feel nothing, only a sexual lust for him, but no deep emotions. And try as she may, to make a perfect family for her daughter, Lorelai could soon see she had not been destined for this role.

Lorelai had tried time and again to find someone to fill her heart, keep her from being alone. And for years had found no one. Forcing her independence to grow stronger and making her afraid to give that up. She had tried with Max but ended up realizing it wasn't worth it to be married if you don't love the person you're with. She had tried with Christopher but had come to the conclusion that he wasn't the one she was meant to be with either. At the same time, she had tried to give up her own destiny in order to please her daughter until the night that Christopher ended all that. Until the night her world had shattered and all the positive she had felt towards Christopher had disappeared into a black hole.

So she moved on. Her independence gaining strength as she turned to Luke as a friend. She leaned on him, allowing him to make her feel safe, all the while keeping up the boundary of independence. Even after Lorelai had given of herself to Luke, after she had gotten pregnant, she still remained solid in her autonomy, wanting only to take of his love, afraid she might lose herself if she gave it back. Eventually the moment came when Luke walked out of her life, seeing her independence as an impenetrable wall that he could not leap. And again her world was shattered. At that moment Lorelai realized that the wall she had put up was crumbling and instead moving to encircle Luke inside with her. She saw that he had become a part of her, an extension that she could not live without. The night of the opening of her inn, Lorelai had finally opened up, admitted to Luke that she was his and he was hers and that she could never see herself as whole without him.

On this night, her wedding night, Lorelai had taken a vow and told the world that she was one with Luke. She was no longer the rebellious self-sufficient teenager she had once been. She had raised a daughter. She had taken in a stepdaughter and learned to love her as well. She had bore two more children whom she loved entirely. And she had married the love of her life. And as Lorelai held Liam close to her, she could hear the words of the song playing.

_When I'm feeling blue  
All I have to do  
Is take a look at you  
Then I'm not so blue  
When I'm in your arms  
Nothing seems to matter  
My whole world can shatter  
I don't care  
Wouldn't you agree?  
Baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love_

Finally Lorelai looks up at Luke and finds him staring back at her. She smiles on her eldest daughter and step daughter. She watches her younger daughter cling to her husband and holds her young son close. She had given up her independence to have this, to be a part of a family, to be a mother, a stepmother and a wife. And as Lorelai looks into Luke's eyes she is no longer afraid.


End file.
